Cataclysm
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: AU. When Sakura had been sent to slay one of the last dragons, she thought it was the mission of a lifetime. Little did she know it would set something in motion that would affect the future of the world, and all the people in it. -Rated for Sexual Content-  Akito x Natsumi  Note: Contains OCs later on
1. Mission

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter One_

-Mission-

Sakura stared up at the cloudy sky, humming softly to herself. Her short pink locks were dancing in the breeze, as were the white feathers on her wings. She absolutely loved it in Heaven, it was always so pretty. At the moment she was sitting on the roof of her small house, dangling her bare feet off the edge of her roof, simply basking in the sunlight. She stopped humming and looked over as a messenger joined her on the roof.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asked politely.

The man nodded. "Your presence is needed. Neji wishes to speak to you." He informed her.

She rose and smoothed out her long white tunic. A golden rope tied around her waist, and at her sleeves, which stopped at the edge of her shoulders. "Very well, please lead the way." She wondered what it could be that Neji would summon her this way. It must be something pretty important, judging by the business-like way it was being handled.

They took to the sky then, and landed when they were in front of one of the main buildings in the center of town. It was similar to all the other ones, large and white, with columns in the front. Only this one had a long set of stairs in the front, showing that it was a building of importance. The messenger led her through the large double doors and down a few hallways, stopping in front of another large door. He knocked politely, and when he was given permission to enter, did just that.

"Sir, I have brought her." He announced, bowing to his superior. Sakura walked in and bowed as well.

"You wished to see me Neji?" she asked, straightening.

There were two brunettes lounging on long cushioned chairs. The man stood as they entered, and held his hand out for the woman to remain seated. They were surrounded by papers and scrolls and quills, since they were the ones who kept account of everything that happened on earth. "Thank you for coming Sakura," he said, stepping forward. His long brown hair was down to his waist and he was wearing a white tunic with a green sash tied around his waist. His wings flared a bit, the feathers ruffling due to the breeze that was just let in.

The messenger left then and closed the doors behind him. Neji stopped and focused his pale, milky eyes on her. "Sakura, we have a serious problem."

Concern entered her deep emerald eyes. "What is it?"

"It's the dragons." He stated.

"Weren't they taken care of?" she asked. "I thought they were no longer of much concern."

"They weren't. We killed off most of them and then the humans thinned them out as well. But…" he stopped, sighing, glancing back at the woman behind him. She got up and walked towards them, stopping beside Neji. Her long brown hair stopped just after shoulders and her tunic tied around her chest, it had no sleeves and she had a dark green sash tied around her waist as well.

"We thought we did, but the one we thought was the leader, or the king, turns out to just be an alpha male. There are only two left." Tenten said, sighing.

Neji nodded. "We have already sent a group to kill the other. But I need you to take on the last one. It doesn't matter, because the last two are males, but still, this dragon has the capability of leveling an entire city in one breath."

Her eyes widened. "Wow. I'm honored that you want me to be the one to take care of it. Do we know the current location of the dragon?" she asked, looking between the two.

"Unfortunately, we cannot pinpoint its location, but we think it's somewhere near Troy. That's where the most havoc has been erupting. Plus there are many caves around the beaches and mountains where the dragon could hide." He explained. "Now, I want you to take two others along with you. It is never wise to be alone, and this one is very dangerous."

She nodded. "Of course. I think I will take Hinata, if that's okay with you?" she asked, knowing that he was protective of his younger cousin.

Neji grimaced. "Well…I suppose. Just be careful, she's very delicate. Though I do agree she would be a good one to bring along on this journey."

"Thank you Neji." She said, smiling at him. "As for who else to take, it might as well be Naruto. If he finds out I went to Earth without him I'll never hear the end of it. And he can be very reliable." She reasoned.

Tenten laughed as Neji just smirked. "Whatever you say Sakura, just be careful. And I know that only few angels have ever returned, but I have faith in you." He smiled and then gave her a nod. "You are to leave as soon as possible, ready yourself and I will send messages to my cousin and Naruto."

"Alright. Tell them to meet me at the gates in an hour." She said, bowing to them before leaving.

She flew back to her home and thought about what she would need for her mission. Since she was an angel, she didn't require food or drink. Although she would have to actually wear her shoes. You didn't need them in Heaven, because the streets were never dirty and for the most part she flew everywhere. But on Earth she would have to blend in, and since it was dirty, shoes were a must. Those thoughts in mind, she went into her bedroom and pulled a pair a golden sandals out from under her bed. After slipping them on, she grabbed her sword and tied it to the rope around her waist.

Nodding as she looked at herself in the mirror, she left a note for anyone who would come by looking for her while she was gone on her mission, and headed for the large golden gates that allowed entry in Heaven. Shortly after she arrived, Hinata and Naruto showed up.

"Are you two ready?" she asked, looking at them. Hinata nodded shyly. She was wearing a tunic similar to Sakura's only it was looser and more modest. Over her shoulder she had a quiver of arrows, and a bow, her chosen weapon. Her eyes were the same as Neji's, and her hair just as long, only it was a black with hints of blue when the sun hit it right, not brown.

"Yes Sakura. Thank you for requesting me to come with you, I am most honored." She said, bowing her head.

Naruto stepped forward then. "Of course Sakura! I am so excited!" the blonde yelled, pumping his fist into the air. His tunic was short, as with most men's, and his sandals tied up his legs, stopping beneath his knees. It had one sleeve on his left shoulder, showing off his tanned muscle, and his sword was strapped to his side. His bright cerulean eyes were alight with mischief and energy, which was practically bursting from his body.

Sakura smiled at them. "Then let's get going. I want to finish this mission as soon as possible."

The large golden, wrought-iron gates opened then, and the three angels took to the sky, flying down to the earth towards Troy. The journey took them a while, but they eventually landed on a beach near the entrance of the city. Well, Hinata and Sakura landed, Naruto crashed right into the sand.

"Ow." The blonde man groaned, standing and brushing the grains off of him.

"Okay, hide your wings, we have to blend in as well as possible." Sakura instructed. Hinata and Naruto nodded, and soon all three looked like regular humans, minus the fact that they seemed to glow slightly, a sign of what they actually were. But it didn't concern them, since humans couldn't see as well as an otherworldly creature could.

Sakura looked around where they had landed, making sure that nobody could have possibly seen them arrive. It would not bode well if they were suspected by the humans. The only building in immediate sight was a large temple on the bluffs near the beach.

Naruto placed his hands on his hips and looked around. "Is this Troy? I always thought it would be bigger." He laughed, his shoulders shaking. Sakura hit him over the back of the head.

"It's not Troy you idiot. This seems to be a temple of some sort." She said. A loud yell could be heard, and everyone directed their gazes on the entrance to the temple. A man was there, wearing robes that showed he was a priest of the temple. He ran down the bluff towards the trio, breathing excitedly.

"Oh my Zeus!" he declared, stopping before them. He looked at Naruto and began to bow profusely. "Apollo, it does this humble servant of yours a great honor to be in your presence." He said, continuing to bow.

"Apollo?" Sakura asked, becoming confused. These people thought that Naruto was one of their gods?

The balding man straightened and looked at her. "Oh goodness! The gods favor me today! Come, come!" He said, gesturing for them to follow him to the temple.

They looked at each other in confusion, but followed him anyways. He seemed nice enough, and having a guide for the city would be useful, since they didn't know their way around the area. Upon entering the temple, they saw a large statue of a man, who, coincidentally, looked a lot like Naruto. "This is awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, examining the statue. "Nice work, nice work." He said, rubbing his chin.

The priest came back out, a timid smile on his face. "I am glad you like your statue. This is your temple." He told them.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Great. The last thing they needed was for Naruto's head to get any bigger because humans were worshipping him, thinking he was their great god Apollo. But it wouldn't do well to burst their bubble that their silly gods didn't really exist.

Once they were inside the beautiful marble halls of the temple, they were surrounded by temple maidens and other holy figures. They were all whispering to one another, amazed that their god had come to earth to visit them. The high priest came forth then, dressed much more elegantly than the rest of the people. His robes were made of fine silk, and he wore nothing but white and gold. "My great Lord Apollo! We humbly send our thanks to you, anything you desire we shall fetch for you. Please," he bowed as did the rest of them.

"Oh, it's not necessary right now, your thanks is enough" Naruto said, waving his hands in front of him in a placating manner. Sakura elbowed him, causing him to wince at the pain.

"If you could, we would like an escort to be shown around the land." She said.

The high priest finally looked to her and nodded, "Oh, you must be the consorts of Lord Apollo."

The pink haired woman chuckled, while Hinata blushed. "I believe you are seriously mistaken if you think I would ever degrade myself in such a manner with _him_." She said, looking at the blonde in slight loathing.

"That hurts you know." The blonde man mumbled, crossing his arms.

He blinked and examined her closely and then Hinata as well. "Oh I see! My Goddesses forgive me, I did not mean to invoke you in such a displeasing way." They all bowed once more. A boy kneeled before her and took her hand.

"You must be the great Goddess Athena. You radiate wisdom and you carry a sword." He kissed her skin, relishing the smooth feel.

A woman studied Hinata and nodded. "And you must be Artemis, your glow is soft and you wear the bow and arrow."

Hinata looked to their leader in a questioning manner, unsure as to how she should react. Sakura just studied the group, and a thought entered her mind. If they pretended to be the gods of these humans, they would not only receive special privileges, but their actions would not be questioned, therefore making it easier in their search for the dragon. "You are forgiven. But next time I will not be so lenient." She said, her voice full of authority. Hinata, picking up on where Sakura was going with this, nodded and smiled kindly.

"Oh the gods incarnate! Please forgive our ignorance! Is there anything that we can do for you?" he asked, stepping forward and smiling.

"Take us to your leader, for we wish to speak to him." She instructed, trying to sound like the goddess they thought she was, although she didn't know how a goddess talked, so this was all just a guess. He nodded and started ordering a few of the lesser hands to help them to the city and take them to the palace.

"I will go with you, and I shall introduce to our king, Priam. He is a very good king, he has two sons, although I assume you already know this." He said, grabbing an offered cloak and wrapping it around his shoulders. They started off and left the temple traveling towards the massive walls of Troy.

As they entered the gates of the city, the three angels looked around in awe. "Wow, this place is a lot like Heaven." Naruto said softly.

"Only dirtier." Sakura said.

"And sadder." Hinata murmured, seeing a few orphaned children begging for food. They were covered in filth, but the wealthier, cleaner people of the city ignored them.

The priest led them through the streets and up the slopes towards the enormous palace at the top of the massive hill. They walked up the steps and past the many columns, entering through an enormous archway. The first thing they saw upon entering the palace was a long pool littered with flower petals. There were statues along the walls of Apollo, and the entire throne room was decorated with gold. Three large thrones sat at the end of the hall before a balcony that looked over the entire city. Only one of the thrones was occupied, by an elderly man, who looked close to death.

"My Lord, I have brought you some visitors." The priest said, bowing to the man when they reached the end of the carpet. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata remained standing, since the only person they ever bowed to was their own lord, or their superiors, and a human was neither. Plus, since they were pretending to be gods, there was no reason to bow.

The old man glanced up and studied the group, going a bit wide eyed. He stood and stepped forward. "My Lord Apollo," he gasped.

"And Athena and Artemis sire." The priest said.

"I see." He nodded and walked up to them. "The gods incarnate. Tell me, why is it you have descended upon us?"

Sakura stepped forward. "We are on a quest. There is an evil beast somewhere among your lands, and we are here to get rid of it." She said.

"Oh, the last dragon?" he presumed, making all three go wide eyed.

"Yes. Has he been causing you any strife?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Not us, we are safe in these walls. But my son, Hector, has just returned from slaying the dragon that just made the last dragon the last one. Why do you think it is here? Near Troy?"

"Not only are there many mountains and beaches with caves in which the dragon can hide, but there has been a lot of havoc in this area as of late, and so we have come to investigate." Sakura said.

Priam just laughed and shook his head, "My lovely Goddess, you may stay in the palace as long as you wish. But the havoc is nothing to worry about, it is just the Greeks. See my youngest has…acquired a woman, and they are not too pleased with this."

Sakura smiled. "Ah, young love." She said, and then nodded to the king. "My siblings and I appreciate your hospitality, Your Highness. Though I do not know how long we will stay."

He bowed to them and smiled, "But please make yourselves at home, as if this was your own Olympus, and enjoy our beautiful Troy."

"We shall." She said. They were shown their quarters then, each being given their own set of chambers right next to each other. Once they were left alone, Naruto and Hinata entered Sakura's room.

"Okay, this is the plan, in case you haven't figured it out by now." She said, giving Naruto a pointed look. "We will pretend to be their gods while we stay here and look for the dragon. This way our authority isn't questioned, and neither are our actions. But don't let it go to your heads." She instructed.

"Yes Sakura, I understand." Hinata nodded.

Naruto smiled widely. "Oh come on, this is awesome! They worship mostly me!" he declared, throwing his arms in the air. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Just don't draw any more attention to yourselves than necessary. Now go and get some rest." She said. The other two angels nodded and left, going to their own chambers.

Sakura finally took in her surroundings once she was alone. Her room was very large and open, with a massive bed on the far wall. It had a soft mattress and silky sheets, and was on a raised platform with a canopy and curtains that could shut it out from the rest of the room. There was a balcony to the left of the bed, and on the other side was the doorway that led to the bathing chambers. In front of the bed was a large furry rug, and a couch for her to recline on that was next to a fireplace.

She walked out onto the balcony and leaned on the railing, looking out over the city. Yes, she thought, nodding to herself, staying here for a while wouldn't be too bad. After all, how hard could it be to find a dragon?


	2. Dragon Hunting

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Two_

-Dragon Hunting-

Jade eyes focused on a few women, drawing water from a well in the city. "Now wait for it." The redhead said to his dark haired companion. They were both dressed in armor, looking to be soldiers for the golden city of Troy, but they were far from it. Their armor was bronze, and they were equipped with weapons made of a similar metal. The wear only went to their mid-thighs, with shin-covering sandals up to their knees. Leather strips made up the edge of the tunic, also having the leathery hide beneath their armor for extra protection. The other, darker looking male, watched closely as a large serpent shot from a hole in the bricks making up the well and sunk its teeth into one of the soft human's flesh. The women started screaming and running as they abandoned the one who was left to endure the slow poison. The two snickered to one another, trying to hide from the eyes of the surrounding witnesses.

"Brilliant. Simply brilliant." The dark haired man said. "What shall we do next? I grow tired of messing with these peasants." He said, stretching.

"As do I my friend." He sighed, glancing up at the palace that towered over everything. "Well, they do have a new princess you know. That beauty that Paris stole, I hear she's the Queen of Sparta and just jumped aboard after sleeping with the prince."

"Oooh, I do love a good twisted romance. We can cause the entire thing to go to shambles." Sasuke said, rubbing his hands together in glee.

Gaara smirked and nodded, "Yes, in fact, the Greeks are on their way this moment. Should be a great war. The destruction and gore, not mentions the distress. The women will suffer most, especially if Troy loses. Think of all the rape." He said, trying to sound concerned, but continued to grin.

"Exactly. Wouldn't just be terrible if somehow the Greeks won, and poor little Paris didn't get to keep his whore?" Sasuke asked in mock concern. "The pampered prince just won't know what to do with himself."

"He might even commit suicide, by jumping off a balcony into the burning flames." He snickered, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Hearing the musings of the two men, a young boy came up to them. "Excuse me noble guards," he paused and looked up at them as they glanced down. "But are you saying Troy is going to be attacked?" he asked.

Gaara and Sasuke quickly veiled their amusement and nodded, "Most likely, since Prince Paris stole a woman who did not belong to him." Gaara said, trying to explain it.

"But the city would never fall, it's impossible." The small one countered, looking determined.

Sasuke smirked and leaned down, resting his hands on his knees so that he was eye level with the young lad. "And why do you say that? What proof do you have?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Because Apollo, Athena, and Artemis are staying at the palace as we speak, and they will never let us down!" the young boy declared, smiling widely.

Gaara just stared at him, scratching his head. "Who?"

"You know, Apollo the God of the Sun, Music and Poetry, Artemis the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, and Athena the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle." The boy said simply.

Sasuke gave Gaara a skeptical look, and then looked back down at the child. "Really? And they're at the palace you say?" he asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Interesting." Gaara smirked, patting the boy on the head. "Run along now young one, enjoy your innocence while it lasts." He said, walking past him and heading towards the palace with Sasuke close behind. "Let's see what exactly these 'gods' are." He started to laugh then, Sasuke echoing his dark pleasure.

* * *

"I am going to go down to the beach and look for the dragon." Sakura announced. Today she wore a long tunic that was tightened around the center. The top consisted of two triangles that completely covered her chest. She wore two golden bands on her wrists, similar to bracelets, and her same sandals from the day before. She picked up her sword and looked at Hinata, who was listening to one of the guards tell her a story of his most dangerous hunting trip, trying to impress her, and Naruto, who was juggling oranges in order to entertain some of the palace women. They had been hanging out in the throne room since the end of breakfast, since Sakura wanted to know how things worked here. But she had grown bored quickly, and she did have a mission to complete after all.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hinata asked, looking over at her.

She shook her head. "No, someone should stay here and watch the idiot." She motioned towards the blonde man, causing Hinata to giggle. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, it is something I am usually assigned to do." The ebony haired woman said.

She nodded, and then left through the entrance of the palace. Not really paying attention to where she was going, since she was looking down in order to fasten her sword to her waist, she ran into a hard surface and stumbled backwards and being caught by a pair of strong hands. She looked up, and was met with a pair of eyes a shade of jade she had never seen before. "Sorry." She said, embarrassed at her lack of coordination.

Gaara stared down at the frail thing in his grasp. "Uh…" he was actually speechless, staring into this woman's face. Now that had never happened before. Sasuke cleared his throat, snapping his other from this odd state. "Um, oh, it's alright." He assured her, releasing her from his firm grasp. "Just try and watch where you're going, not paying attention will give you a nasty fall down the steps."

She shrugged. "Won't hurt me too badly." She tightened the tie on her sword and pat it, making sure it was secure.

Sasuke raised a brow at her. "That's a pretty big sword for such a small woman. Are you sure you know how to handle such a weapon?" he asked, raising a mocking brow.

"Better than you most likely." She said haughtily, giving him a once over. "Now if you don't mind, I have places to go." She said, walking between the two men and down the rest of the steps in a dismissive manner.

Gaara glanced after her, a bit perplexed. "What would a woman have to do outside the palace? Shouldn't you be getting pampered or something?" he asked with a sneer, getting his arrogance back. After all, she was a mere human and had nothing on him. Plus, making women mad was just too much fun.

She looked back at him, surprising him somewhat with the smirk on her features. "Not if you're a goddess."

Neither looked surprised, their gazes only narrowed at her. "Is that so? Well," Gaara smirked. "I know for a fact that goddesses do not exist. So you must be a fraud."

She shrugged. "Who would believe a mere guard to a temple priest? Or a king? Believe what you want, it matters not to me."

"Besides," he continued, not even fazed by her attempted slander. "You're not pretty enough to be considered a goddess."

She turned a bit red in anger. "Well." She eventually stated, crossing her arms. "I don't have to listen to this from you. I know I'm beautiful, and the fact that you can't see through your arrogance and callousness to know that doesn't bother me in the least." She said.

Sasuke snickered. "She's funny."

"Or I am simply ruffling your feathers." He pointed out, giving Sasuke a smirk as well.

"Whatever. I don't have to waste my time talking to you two." She said, turning back around and continuing her descent.

Sasuke, never one to just let someone walk away before he was done toying with them, quickly followed until he was before her, halting her movements. "Now wait a minute. If you are a goddess, as you say you are, you cannot just wander around this city all by your lonesome. At least let us go with you to your destination and protect you." He said, giving Gaara a meaningful look he obviously missed.

"What? I don't want to escort her around, if she wants to die so be it." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, good luck. You're new here and it's not easy to look around this place. But have fun with that."

"I don't want to be stuck with you two anyways. And thank you, I will have fun." She said, going around the ebony haired man and walking down the rest of the way. Then she headed off in the direction of the beach.

Sasuke walked back up to where his friend was, his gaze still on the pink haired woman. "I wonder where she's going." He said. Gaara shrugged, but as he watched her, finally glimpsing at her out of the sun his eyes widened.

"I don't know…but I know why they think she's a goddess now…" he trailed off and followed after her. "Come on." Sasuke watched his back and sighed, doing as he was asked. He supposed he'd just have to wait to hear this discovery.

* * *

When she reached the beach, Sakura stopped and looked around it. Then she slipped off her sandals and lifted her tunic a bit, walking into the salty water of the ocean and relishing in its feel. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, taking in its salty smell. Heaven just smelled clean, but earth, she was finding, had many different scents. She opened her eyes and left the water, slipping her sandals back on and heading off to her right, away from the Temple of Apollo. She figured that if the dragon was staying here, it would want to be as far away from civilization as possible.

She walked for a little ways, until she spotted a cave in the distance. She picked up the hem of her dress and broke into a run, stopping just before the entrance. She drew her sword and snuck inside, stopping when the end of the cave was staring her right in the face, ten feet away. Letting out a disappointed sigh, she sheathed her weapon and walked back outside, continuing down the beach.

Upon finding another cave, she decided not to draw her weapon, just in case. She pressed herself against the wall of the cave, slinking along the side as she got further and further in, the light at the entrance becoming smaller as she went. She strained her ears in order to listen for the sound of breathing, and trying to feel for another presence in the cave. Feeling a bit safe, she stepped away from the wall, and grimaced when she heard a squishing sound. The sand here was soaked and moist, meaning that during high tide, it would be flooded with water. There was no way a dragon would stay here.

Sakura exited the cave, but continued to think positively. Just because the first two caves she found were empty didn't mean the others would be. It was a while before she found another one, and this time she just walked right inside. She knew it was foolish, but she was tired of taking precautions for no reason. Feeling bold, she continued to walk down the center of the cave. That is, until something slithered across her foot. Her eyes widened, and before she could control herself she ran out of the cave, screaming. When she was out in the light, she stopped and placed her hand over her racing heart. She knew that it wasn't a dragon, since it was too small, but it had startled her so badly. Taking a fortifying breath, she re-entered the cave, this time with her sword drawn. She heard a hiss, and swung her sword without a second thought.

Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was just a snake. She let out a sigh of relief, glad that it wasn't anything major. She rose and continued deeper into the cave. It wasn't too long later when she emerged, a look of disappointment on her face. She turned and walked down the beach, deciding with determination that she would continue on her task until it started to get dark.

Watching hidden amongst the bluffs, Sasuke looked at Gaara. "Explain to me why we are spying on her? I thought you said you didn't want to follow her around."

"I didn't want to follow a human." He said, not taking his eyes off the retreating form.

Sasuke just frowned. "What?"

He sighed, "She's looking for me."

"How do you know that? To me it looks like she's an overly suspicious woman who likes to explore caves." The dark haired man said. "Oh." He said, beginning to realize what Gaara was talking about. "What do you mean that you didn't want to follow a human?"

Finally, Gaara looked back at his friend. "It's very difficult to see in the sunlight, but that woman is not a human. I'm almost positive she's a heavenly being."

Sasuke's eyes widened ad he looked back down at her. "Interesting. It would make sense then, as to why the humans think she is a Goddess, and why she carries a sword. Should we investigate?" he asked, looking back at the redhead.

"Hm." He looked back off, seeing that the woman was gone. "Most likely. After all," he let out a dark laugh. "I am the last of my kind." He smirked, letting his eye take on a more dragon-like appearance.


	3. Unrequitted Assistance

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Three_

-Unrequited Assistance-

"So Sakura, how did your search go yesterday?" Naruto asked, lounging on the couch in her room and tossing an apple in the air and catching it repeatedly.

"How do you think it went, you moron?" Sakura asked in slight agitation. "I was all by myself, searching the shoreline for caves that could house the dragon. And did I find it? No, I did not. Otherwise I would have told you." She said, pacing. Today her tunic was long and left her right shoulder exposed, since it had one strap. She was still wearing the bracelets, and this time her sandals tied higher up her calves, so that they stayed on better. As always, her sword was tied to her waist.

Hinata came in then and sat down on the end of the couch Naruto was on. "I'm sorry it didn't go very well Sakura. Perhaps if you try again, things will be better. We mustn't lose hope." She said.

"I know that. It would just be nice, if the two people that I chose to come with me actually helped, instead of getting all wrapped up in the fact that the humans think we're their gods reincarnated. " She said, storming out of her room. She continued to walk through the palace until she was on one of the highest balconies that were open for anyone to go on. Seeing that it was empty, she walked over to the ledge and placed her hands on it. She leaned forward slightly and looked out at the city.

"I am surrounded by useless people." She grumbled to herself. Seeing a few of the villagers walk around, she got an idea. Why not ask some of them if they had seen that dragon? Or perhaps knew where it was?

Those thought in mind, she turned and went back inside, going through the palace and down the steps until she was outside once more. She clasped her hands behind her back and began to walk through the village, intent on finding the marketplace. Usually in human villages, those were the most reliable places to look when you wanted to find information.

When she arrived, she looked around the area, and saw a few of the villagers gathered around a well. Seeing her approach, they all stood straighter, trying to look respectable for the goddess. "Lady Athena, what brings you out here among us peasants?" one of the men asked, appearing to be nervous since such beauty was presented to him.

"I was just wondering if any of you would happen to know anything about the dragon I am searching for." The pink haired woman said, giving them all a friendly smile.

A woman with orange hair shook her head. "Not I, my Lady. The only thing that troubles my father's flocks is the wolves and thieves who would try to steal them."

"Not really. Although I heard from my brother's wife's cousin's friend's sister that her friend saw a large footprint in the sand on the beach, but it washed away before anyone else could be shown it." The first man she had spoken to said.

Sakura crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Interesting. Do you know where I might find this person? I would be very interested in seeing where exactly they saw the footprint."

The man shook his head negatively. "I'm afraid he is dead now. He was a member of the Trojan army, and was slain by a Cyclops." He said. Sakura had to hold in a giggle. Humans really were very impressionable beings, it was a wonder God decided to keep them around. But she wouldn't question His judgment, for who was she, a mere angel, to understand His ways?

"You could always try asking some of the messengers and sentries if they've heard anything. They go everywhere around here, and are the best people to ask, since they know everything." Another woman suggested. Sakura nodded to her in thanks.

"I will do just that." She said, seeking these people out. But, as it turned out, nobody had quite heard enough about the dragon to help her. People either didn't know, or if they had heard anything, couldn't quite remember the exact details or where it occurred. Sakura assumed it was because the people were too afraid to falsely inform a goddess, for fear of retribution when she found out.

She huffed, sitting down next to an elegant fountain and crossed her arms, staring at the ground in a pout. "Yet even more useless people." She mumbled, crossing her legs.

"So you're looking for a dragon, huh?" a deep voice said from her left.

She chuckled humorlessly. "Looking being the key term." She said, looking over to see the same guard from the other day, the darker haired guard standing next to him.

"Are you sure someone of your small stature can take on a dragon?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

Sakura stood. "Looks can be deceiving." She defended, crossing her arms.

"Oh yes they can." Gaara said, smirking at her knowingly.

Her brow knit together in confusion. Was he trying to imply something? No matter, once she was done with this task she could go home, and not have to try and pretend to be something she wasn't just for the sake of a few humans. "Not that this conversation isn't thrilling or anything, but I don't really like you two, so I'm going to continue with my business." She said, turning to leave.

"Good luck finding that dragon…or more so," Gaara paused and crossed his arms with a small chuckle. "Good luck finding someone who isn't afraid enough to say anything. But, you go right on and do your business. Come Sasuke, let's get see if the dragon wants something to eat, you know how he gets when he's hungry." He said, looking to his dark haired friend and then walking off. Sasuke gave her a knowing look and turned to follow the redhead.

"Wait!" Sakura called, running up to them. "You know something about the dragon?" she asked, looking between them.

Sasuke smirked. "We might." He said, crossing his arms.

"Yes," Gaara feigned bother. "We might know a bit more than just something, but nothing of consequence. We will stay out of your way oh _great_ Goddess." He seethed, making it sound far from endearing.

"Will you please help me?" she asked, clasping her hands together in front of her chest.

Sasuke snorted. "And why should we do that? Don't you have everything under control?" he asked mockingly.

She sent a small glare his way, but looked back up at the man before her. "Pretty please?" she asked softly, giving him her most endearing look.

"I don't know. I don't even know your name. And it might be too risky, your hair color might be too delicious for him to resist." The redhead smirked, keeping ahead in the game. She was playing right into place.

She lowered her arms and gave him a confused look. "Why would my hair color have anything to do with a dragon's tastes?" she asked, reaching up and grasping the ends of her pink locks. "And besides, if you had only asked, I would have told you my name. It is Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Uh no, it's not." He glared.

She crossed her arms and raised a haughty brow at him. "Yes, it is."

"Look we can go back and forth with this for hours, but at the end of the day you're not getting help with this dragon business unless you tell me your real name." he shrugged, glancing off at Sasuke. "Cause we've got better things to do, don't we Sasuke?"

"Always Gaara. Always." He said with a nod.

Sakura let out a sigh. "If I had a real name, why would I just go and tell it to someone whom I don't even know? Or trust? No, I would make you earn such a privilege." She said.

"Well alright then, you have fun trying that." He turned away from her and waved. "Good luck finding that dragon by yourself. No offense but I think even if he were right in front of you, you wouldn't be able to find him."

Her emerald eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I bet you don't even know where the dragon is." She stated, causing him to pause in his step.

"Oh I know exactly where he is. Even Sasuke knows where he is, at this very moment in fact." He said, turning to face her once more.

Sasuke smirked. "Of course. Tomorrow around dusk, he will be a ways outside the northern gate of the city. Most likely terrorizing the farmers. Isn't that right Gaara?" he asked, looking to his friend.

They made eye contact for a brief moment and then Gaara just grinned, locking his gaze with the arrogant woman's. "Oh yes, he will. So I'd go check that out." He said, knowing that she wouldn't. Her pride was beginning to show and she wouldn't trust their word for anything. Which only made the plan all the more exhilarating. He couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Please. You two are just a bunch of liars, and I won't be deceived by you." She said, pointing at them both. "I'll see you guys later, when the dragon _hasn't_ shown up." She said with a wave, walking off.

"Well," Sasuke said, looking at the redhead. "She was right about us being liars, although it was used in the wrong context." He said with a frown, pretending that it bothered him.

"Hm. Sad, she's not a very good hunter. I mean, we even told her where the big bad dragon will be tomorrow," he sighed, setting his hands on his hips. "And she's not even going to bother to show. How rude. We may be liars and mean, but at least it is expected. I would think an angel would be more kind, don't you?" he arched what could be a brow and let his frown turn up into a cocky grin.

"Yes, well, perhaps she is of a new breed." Sasuke said, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit. "Either that or her instincts are telling her not to trust us, and she hasn't yet figured out why."

He thought about that for a moment. "Hm, possibly. Well, let's go get something to eat, I'm starving." And with that the two left, off to their makeshift home for the time being.

* * *

Sakura turned the page in her book, humming softly to herself. At the moment she was reclining on the couch in her room, and had a nice fire going in her fireplace. It was the next day, close to the time when those two guards had said the dragon would show outside the city. She snorted at that thought.

They were so full of themselves. Who were they to think they knew more than her about a dragon? She was an angel, while they were mere humans. Her entire training had been in combat and how to take down such a beast, along with killing demons. And no amount of arrogance was going to make them more knowledgeable than her on the matter.

She would find that dragon, even if it meant staying on earth for a year or more. It was her mission. She had never failed before, and this would not be the first time she did so. Her head turned to her balcony as she heard the sound of terrified screams, and she quickly put down her book and ran outside, stopping when she reached the railing.

There, filling most of the sky, was the largest beast she had ever seen in her life. The whole thing was a charcoal black with massive, wide open wings. But as terrifying as it looked, it was absolutely beautiful. Its head was very large, and the dragon as a whole was just big, not slinky and snake-like the way she thought it would be. Its jaw was long, and when it opened its mouth to shoot out a blast of fire, she could feel the heat. It flew over the city, letting out the most bone chilling roar. She actually thought her blood stopped flowing, she was so terrified. Everything about this beast screamed death, and she could even smell it in the air.

Finally it landed on the outer wall and roared loudly, snatching up a few Trojans and throwing them up and then swallowing them whole. Sakura pushed away from the balcony and grabbed her sword, running out of her room. Naruto and Hinata joined her, having heard the commotion from their own chambers. "What's going on?" the blonde man asked.

"It's the dragon. It's on the outer, northern wall as we speak." Sakura explained quickly. The trio ran out of the palace, stopping at the top of the stairs. Blinking in confusion, Sakura whipped her head around, looking for the large beast. But it was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't even sense its presence anymore.

"Damn." She muttered, gripping her sword. She couldn't believe those two jerks were right. And the worst part about it wasn't that a few humans had died, it was that she knew they would never let her hear the end of it.

* * *

Sakura took one last look at herself in the mirror and sighed. Tonight King Priam was throwing a banquet in order to honor her arrival along with Naruto and Hinata. It had taken them a few days to prepare everything, and she wouldn't be going if it wasn't such a huge ordeal for them and she had to keep up appearances.

Her dress was made of a golden material and flowed loosely to her feet. It beaded around the center, also tightening, accentuating her small frame. The top was a loose halter like one, this time just barely covering her breasts. On her right arm she had a band of woven gold, and around each of her wrists she had two bracelets. One just a plain band of gold, and the other had three large jewels embedded in it. A sapphire with a ruby on each side. Her hair was curled in ringlets, with some pulled back and away from her face, her bangs hanging off to the side. Holding her hair back were clips with jewels similar to those on her bracelets, and on her feet she wore golden sandals.

She left her room, and headed to the banquet hall, where everyone else had gathered. She entered with both Naruto and Hinata, who were each dressed in formal togas, similar to her own in the material it was made out of and in design. Three large seats were set at the head of the table, and then King Priam's was on the right, with Prince Hector and his wife, Prince Paris, and his stolen woman on the left. A group of musicians were placed off to the side, playing a happy medley.

Everyone took their seats and began the meal. Naruto was making jokes for everyone, trying to rhyme in the way a poem would, although he was horrible at it, and Hinata was giggling softly at the blonde. Sakura pushed her food around her plate idly, not really paying attention to what was going on. Mundane human things such as this bored her, and at the moment all she wanted to do was go out and look for the dragon. Her hope had been renewed after seeing it the night before, and the longer she waited the smaller her chances were of finding it before it attacked again.

Midway through the banquet a messenger ran in looking terrified, his breathing labored. "The dragon is attacking Mytilene! The entire city is being burned to the ground!" he shouted. Everyone sat there, stunned, until everything erupted into chaos.

People started screaming and running away, while Priam was barking orders for a group of soldiers to get on a boat and try to rescue some of the villagers. Without hesitation Sakura got up and ran to her room, grabbing her sword, before running back out to the front of the palace in order to see if she could see the dragon.

The only thing visible in the night sky was a large glowing ember. She couldn't see the flames, but the sky was lite up with red and orange, almost as if it were the sun. Sakura went wide eyed and let her wings form on her back, stretching slowly to try and catch the wind. She took off into the air and flew as fast as she could towards the glow. But suddenly, over the mountains, a huge blood red, scaly dragon soared, letting out its fiery breath in the surrounding areas.

Not wanting to get hit by the burning flames, Sakura dropped from the sky, landing gracefully on one of the cliffs lining the beach. She stared in awe at the large beast. Although this was her second time seeing it, she was still shocked. It was a lot bigger than she had ever thought it would be, and a lot more powerful. But she refused to let fear overtake her, and so decided that she needed to come up with a plan.

The beast landed, causing the whole earth to tremor, and looked around, craning its neck towards her. Its light jade gaze focusing on the pink haired woman in its midst and slowly began to creep towards her, almost looking as if it were grinning with a dangerous smile. Now that it was closer, she felt her blood freeze. It was _way_ bigger than anything she had ever seen before. As its legs moved, the muscles throughout the entire body tightened and then released, but the claw never retracted as it took its advance.

Gulping slightly, but putting on a brave front, she grasped the hilt of her sword and drew it, falling into a defensive stance. In her head she tried to recite everything she had learned in her training, wanting to be prepared in case it should attack her. The best thing to do in this situation would be to watch its movements carefully and learn from it. It was odd, she felt like the dragon was sizing her up and mocking her, as if it possessed a deeper level of intelligence not originally found in such creatures.

It opened its mouth, but what came out was not a blast of fire. It shot forward so quickly that she couldn't even comprehend what had happened until it was over her with a watering mouth, breathing down on her with immense heat, but nothing that burned her skin oddly enough.

"By all that is holy." She said under her breath, straightening as she looked up at the beast's jowls. She knew she was supposed to kill it, but, if it wasn't going to attack her, why should she attack it? She had no reason to try and kill the dragon if it wasn't going to try and kill her. Though she knew it had killed people, she also knew that humans bred like rabbits, and so wasn't concerned much with the decrease in population. Suddenly she had the strangest urge to reach out and touch the beast, and was hard pressed to not give in to it. But when she reached out to touch it, its eyes dilated and it snapped viciously at her.

It took off to the skies once more and flew with a faster speed than she even thought possible for its size. And then, it disappeared behind the mountains. Sheathing her weapon, she extended her wings and flew over to the area as quickly as she could, landing a bit away so that she could try to sneak up on it. Thinking it would be easier to blend into the area, she folded her wings and hid them once more. But it was nowhere to be found.

"What are you doing here?" someone asked, making her whirl around and come face to face with the ebony haired guard.

"The dragon came this way, have you seen it?" she asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Not really. I haven't seen it since the other night, when I said it would appear." He said.

Confusion marred her brow. "But, it attacked Mytiline, and then came this way…"she trailed off.

"No," he shook his head. "There's been nothing like that over here."

"Well, well. Look who we have here." Another voice said, and the redhead appeared beside the other. "The _great_ Goddess Athena."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Look, have you seen the dragon? It came over here not more than two minutes ago, and your friend here seems to be completely ignorant of that fact." She said, gesturing to Sasuke.

"There was a dragon here?" he asked, looking at his companion, a silent conversation beginning as if they were trying to establish whether or not this was true. They both looked back at her. "What are you talking about, there's no beast here."

"But there was, I saw it come this way." She said, her frustration heard through her tone.

"Oh dear, dear Athena." Gaara smirked, sneering her fake name. "You must be seeing things."

Her emerald eyes narrowed. "All I see are two useless idiots." She said, and then looked around, checking the area for the dragon. Letting out a breath that blew some of her bangs from her face, she dropped her arms. "Whatever. I'm going to go and see if there's anyone around here who's useful." She said, turning on her heel and walking off.

Sasuke waited until she was gone before chuckling and looking at his friend. "Seems our plan worked wonderfully, as they always do." He said.

"She's so adorable when her pretty little feathers are ruffled." He said back, watching where she had disappeared to. "Now Sasuke. One more time, let's see if she caves. Go find her and tell her you know the dragon is going to be on the beach."

"Way ahead of you my friend." The Uchiha said, following after her. When he caught up to the pink haired woman, she was asking some of that scared villagers where they had last seen the dragon. He walked up behind her and clasped his hands behind his back. "You know, the dragon is on the beach." He told her.

Sakura glared at him. "Oh really? You mean the same dragon that you never saw nor heard?" she snorted. "Not likely."

"Okay then, it's your mistake." He said, unable to hide his mischievous smirk.

There was a monstrous roar right then, making everyone freeze. Everyone except for Sasuke that is. "Well, well, well. Now did that come from the beach?" he asked, giving her a smug look.

She frowned and marched off in the direction of the beach, her hands clenched into fists. She was tired of these stupid guards and their whole 'we haven't seen the dragon but we know where it is' attitude. Rounding the corner to the beach, she stopped in her tracks and took in the sight before her.

There was a large mass wading in the shallow water, its wings stretched out, blotting out the stars in the night sky. Sakura kept her arms at her side and walked forward a bit, as if she were in a trance. She knew she should be afraid, especially after her close encounter with it only moments before, but it was just so fascinating that she couldn't help herself. The urge to touch it came back, she wanted to know what its scales felt like, whether or not they were course and rough, or soft and smooth. It was her natural curiosity that kept her from drawing her weapon and attacking it, though that wasn't the smartest course of action. She stopped in her tracks when she was only a few feet away, and continued to watch it.

Its movements became tense and its large and long neck craned, turning to look at her. It slowly came towards her, only growing in size the closer it got. '_You should run._' She felt a deep voice rush across her mind.

Sakura's brow furrowed, caught by surprise by the voice in her head. She knew it was the beast before her, and she felt awe fill her. They never told her about this when she was given the mission, or learning about it. Her stubborn nature not allowing her to run away, she crossed her arms. "No." she said, glad that her voice didn't waver.

Its teeth started showing as if it were grinning. '_I will kill you Angel. Unless you leave now._'

She raised a brow and she crossed her arms, not really surprised that it knew what she was. If the being was powerful enough, it could sense other mystical beings when they were near. "If you were going to kill me, then why didn't you do so earlier when I had drawn my weapon?"

'_Because you're_ _pretty._'

"What?" she blinked, taken aback by its words.

It blew out a puff of smoke in her face, grumbling. '_Because...you are very pretty and I am attracted to you._' He moved closer, his claws digging into the sand as he circled her with his neck, getting closer to her face and staring into her emerald orbs. '_I would even consider continuing my line with you. Such a beautiful and flawless creature you are._'

She stepped back in an attempt to create some distance between her and the dragon's large head, and spluttered a bit, a dark blush creeping up her face. "Uh…b-b-but…it…it's not possible." She eventually got out, grasping for straws.

'_Says who?_'

She began to fidget. "Well…you know…people." She muttered sheepishly, the red on her face becoming even darker. She wasn't sure why, but for some reason she felt extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable with the turn of conversation, though it didn't make sense.

He leaned closer, trapping her between his neck and his head. '_What do you really know about dragons, my sweet little mate? You will bare my children. After all, you and your kind have killed the rest of mine. Plus…you are simply fascinating._'

"What if I don't want to be your mate, hm?" she crossed her arms, the beast's words angering her slightly. She didn't like how it was just assuming things, or the fact that it was telling her what to do with her future. She was the only one who decided how things went in her life, and it would remain that way.

'_Do you even know how dragons mate, my sweet, sweet Angel?_'

She looked the beast up and down. "No. But that is beside the point." She said.

He smirked. '_I can change into a man you know._'

It was Sakura's turn to smirk. "And that is supposed to interest me how? I'm still not going to be your mate. I don't even know you, and on top of that, I was sent here to kill you. So thanks, but no thanks."

'_I'm sure I might be able to change your mind._ _If you promise to close your eyes._'

She gave the beast a doubtful look. "Why should I trust you?"

He moved back, unwrapping from around her, '_I haven't killed you yet, have I?_'

"Fine." She sighed, since it had a point. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, tensing slightly as she waited for whatever the dragon was going to do. There was a change in the wind and suddenly she felt a hand covering her eyes. The contact made her eyes flash open, but she saw nothing.

"I said don't open your eyes." The voice said, slightly amused. "If you know who I am then this game of hide and seek won't be fun anymore." He smirked. Gaara just stared at the curious little angel in front of him. He placed his free hand on her check, cupping her face. "But you should consider being my mate. I could make you feel things you've never felt before." He whispered, leaning forward and kissing her.

Sakura's eyes widened beneath the hand that was covering them, and she stiffened a bit at the contact. She'd never been kissed before, and so found the sensation to be a bit odd. Not unpleasant, just odd. She slowly relaxed and parted her lips experimentally, her curiosity once again needing to be satisfied. He allowed her access and deepened their kisses, making it more heated. His hand lowered and wrapped tightly around her waist, pressing her body flush against his own. And she felt everything, as her fingers traced down his toned arms and then to his sides. He was completely naked.

At the sudden realization of his state of dress, she quickly brought her hands back up to her chest and clasped them together, her blush from before returning. Hesitantly, she set her hands on the dragon's shoulders, deciding that that was a safe place to keep them. Becoming engrossed in the foreign sensations she was feeling, she pressed her chest against his even more, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of him.

He moved his lips from hers, trailing heated kisses along her jaw and then down her slender throat. Every place his body touched hers there was a warm heat from his natural high temperature. He kissed her collar bone and then lowered, letting his lips linger on the swell of her beast. He stopped, not wanting to press his luck with a good being such as she. He smoothed his hand down her back, keeping the other over his eyes, pressing her pelvis against his own so she could feel his want for her. "Be my mate. I will be with you forever." He promised. "So tell me your beautiful name."

"I…I can't." she shook her head, actually sounding a bit distressed. He could feel her brow crease beneath his hand, and saw the corners of her lips turn down slightly.

"Why not?" he asked, seeming truly sad.

"It's forbidden, surely you know that." She said, unable to come up with any other reason. She bit her lip, battling internally with herself. This was entirely wrong, and she knew it. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to pull away from him. But just by doing this, she was betraying her mission, and everyone who was counting on her. And she couldn't bring herself to turn away from everything she'd ever known just because this dragon wanted her to continue its line and could make her feel things she'd never felt before.

"Nothing is forbidden to me." He sighed, his hot breath on the nape of her neck. "Surely you know by now that I am no ordinary dragon." She nodded, unable to say anything as most of her thoughts went to the feeling of his breath on her throat. "Then at least tell me your name." he said softly, pulling at the tie around her waist, allowing her tunic to fall loosely around her.

She crossed her arms under her chest in an attempt to rid herself of the feeling of being exposed to him, though all that had happened was her dress was now just hanging over her small frame. She licked her lips, soothing the spot she had been previously biting. "My name…is Sakura." She said softly.

Gaara almost pulled back, surprise written all over his face, though she couldn't see it. "Sakura." He repeated, moving his hand slightly. Even if she saw him she wouldn't be able to take him on, he was far more powerful than she was. "You have a beautiful name Angel. Just as beautiful as your glorious face. Sakura is far most fitting than Athena." he smirked, pulling away. Before she could open her eyes there was a gust of wind and she looked upon the massive form of the dragon once more. '_I will give you time to think about becoming my mate Sakura._' The voice purred across her mind. '_You know where to find me when you've come to a decision._' He smirked, taking off into the sky and shooting off faster than she had ever witnessed it fly.

She let out a whimper and sank into the sand on her knees. She grabbed her sash and held it up to her chest, her mind going over everything that had just happened. Hearing the sound of footsteps coming her way, she quickly tied the sash back around her waist and fixed her appearance, standing and brushing the sand off of her. Naruto and Hinata ran onto the beach then, both looking worried.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Hinata asked, breathing a bit heavily from her run. Naruto placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Nevermind that, did you see the dragon? Where did it go? Or, did you already kill it?" the blonde asked, looking around the area.

Sakura's eye twitched angrily and, pulling back her fist, she decked him in the face, causing him to hit the sand. "You dare ask me if I killed him? What do you think happened, huh?" she placed her hands on her hips. "He got away. Perhaps, if the two people I had come along to help me actually did help, this would have already been taken care of and we could go home." She said, glowering at the both of them. "Now come on, we should get back to the palace and tell King Priam about what happened here." She said, walking off the beach. Naruto and Hinata exchanged guilty looks and followed her quickly, knowing that it was best not to keep her waiting when she was in a bad mood.

Unseen by the angels standing on a cliff were the figures of Gaara and Sasuke. "So," the Uchiha asked, turning his head to look at his friend. "How did it go?"

The redhead just smirked, tying a red tunic around his waist. "Very well. Tomorrow I think we will be paid a visit by the lovely Athena and she may even tell us her name."

"Excellent." He rubbed his hands together in glee. "I'm tired of hanging around the peasants." He gave Gaara an odd look. "Though, she didn't seem too afraid of you, from what I observed. Is she broken?" he asked curiously.

Gaara shook his head. "No…I was talking to her."

"Talking to her?" Sasuke looked a bit surprised. "You haven't spoken to a human in your true form in hundreds of years."

"I know," he sighed. "I think I want her to be my mate."

"Really?" he asked, raising a brow. "Whatever for? No offense, but you are rather picky about those things, so I can't help but be curious."

Gaara crossed his arms and watched the three figures disappear. "I've encountered her twice now, and she's the only heavenly being who has actually spoken with me, instead of trying to kill me."

"Hm. Odd." He let out a breath. "Well, shall we go snoop around town a bit? Cause some more trouble before we have to be good and help the little angel?"

"Might as well. There's nothing else to be done for the night, unless you want to go bed a few women." The redhead snickered, glancing back at his friend.

"I did see a few scared virgins while you were on your little rampage. Perhaps we can go…allay their fears." He said with a smirk.

"Sounds wonderful. Since it doesn't seem I will be receiving pleasures from my precious little angel this evening." He laughed, letting his wings form from his back and stretch out as Sasuke's black feathery ones emerged and strained out, catching the wind.

"Let's go." And with that the two took off.


	4. Divulge

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Four_

-Divulge-

Sakura paced her lavish room in the palace, her hands clasped behind her back. Today she was wearing a crimson tunic that flowed down to her feet and scooped high across her collar, the sleeves tying on top of her shoulders.

She'd been doing a lot of thinking, and had come to the conclusion that she would have to ask those two annoying guards to assist her in her search for the dragon. There was no way in this world or the next would she be his mate, she just couldn't. Not only did it go against everything she believed in, but even if he could become a man, she knew nothing about him. She always pictured herself meeting some nice, handsome angel that she could go into battle with and would protect her. Someone who would see past the brave front she put up and get to know the real her, the vulnerable her.

Stopping in her tracks, she sighed. It was going to hurt her pride to do this, but it was for the greater good. Once she informed the dragon of her decision, she could then look for an actual reason to kill the beast. Perhaps she would even have to go so far as to send Naruto back up to Heaven and inform Neji about this turn of events. Never before had she heard that a dragon could take on human form and mate something other than its own kind, and the fact that he could speak to her was something else she had never heard of. Apparently, they were either lacking in information, or had for some reason chosen not to tell her, which she refused to believe.

Her decision made, she grabbed her sword and fastened it to her waist as she walked out of her room and to the front of the palace. She didn't know exactly where to find them, but she figured they wouldn't be too far away, seeing as they would probably guess that she'd come to them for help eventually.

After walking around the city for a bit, she saw them talking to a couple of young girls, obviously too naïve to see what it was the two men were really after. She began to walk towards them, a scowl on her face. Seeing this, the two girls went wide eyed and made some excuse in order to leave. Sakura stopped when she was in front of them and crossed her arms.

"It's Sakura." She said, looking off to the side.

"I'm sorry?" the redhead blinked, feigning confusion. After all, he had found out the young beauty's name the night before last.

She looked up at him. "My real name. You said I had to tell you what it was in order to receive help in finding the dragon. So there you have it, now help me." She ordered, tired of sucking up her pride.

"I don't know, why don't you ask nicely?" Sasuke interjected, raising a brow at her. She turned her glare to him, but remained silent.

Gaara just smiled, examining her. "Yes. Do ask nicely. A girl with such a pretty name and a pretty face should be kind. Don't you think? Almost like an Angel, wouldn't you say Sasuke?" he smirked then, glancing back at his friend.

"That's exactly what I'd say Gaara." The ebony haired man said.

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh, looking to the sky and silently asking for patience. She looked back at them, though her gaze was mainly on the redhead in front of her. "Will you please help me in my quest to find and slay the dragon? I would be ever so grateful." She said, making sure to sound as endearing as possible. She thought it was a bit suspicious that they were comparing her to an angel, since in reality, that's what she was, but decided to ignore it. They were only simple humans, after all.

"Much better," Gaara snickered patting her head as he walked past her, followed by Sasuke. "Now, Sakura," he said her name, already loving the sound of it on his tongue. "Tell us. What do you know about the dragon so far?"

She turned and caught up with him, not wanting to be last. "He's weird." She said, crossing her arms and looking at the ground. Sasuke snickered, but refrained from commenting.

The redhead laughed and looked down at her. "He?" he asked, since she had never before referred to her prey as 'He' before.

"Yes, he." She gave him a small glare.

"Not it?"

"Definitely not an it." She said softly, the memories of the day before causing her cheeks to turn a light shade of pink. Stopping those thoughts before they could begin, she shook her head. "Anyways, I don't see how what I know about the dragon is of any consequence. What I want to know, is what you know, since you seem to always know where he is."

"He likes the beach so he's there a lot." Gaara said simply, as if it were obvious. "So I assume by now you realize dragons can take on human forms?"

"Yes. But, when I checked the beach he wasn't there, so I assume he was in the city or something like that." She said.

Sasuke shrugged. "You have to check the beach at the right times. It's not like he's going to spend his whole day there, that would just be boring."

"Exactly. I'm pretty sure that he was going to be in the caves today." Gaara said, trying not to smile. This was going to be fun. Since, for once they were going to be telling the truth. The places they would visit, the dragon would also be there. Unfortunately, Sakura had not gotten a look at his face.

"Really?" Sakura asked, unable to hide her excitement. This would be good, she could tell him she couldn't accept his offer and inform him that the next time they met, she would have no other choice but to kill him, as was her job. "Then we should get there as soon as possible." She said with a nod, quickening her pace so that she was leading them to the beach. Sasuke smirked and exchanged a knowing look with his friend. Yes, this was going to be tons of fun.

* * *

Sakura walked ahead of them, irritated with their failures. They had searched at least thirteen caves and it was nearing three in the afternoon. "I told you I was sorry." Gaara whined, unable to stop the evil grin that was plastered on his face.

"Yeah well you two have been no help at all." she snapped.

"Wait look! What's that?" Sasuke pointed, pretending to look excited.

"Where?" Sakura asked, looking in the direction he was pointing in. Unable to see anything, she picked up her skirts and hurried over to the cave they were nearing, and peered inside. "I don't see anything." She said, squinting.

"Look harder." He said with a smirk.

She walked into the cave, her hand on the hilt of her sword just in case, though she doubted that he would attack her, based on their discussion the night before. Just as Gaara and Sasuke neared the mouth of the cave, they heard Sakura screech, followed by her running out with her hands held protectively over her head.

"Ew!" she whined, looking at her shoulder, which had a large helping of bat poop on it. "Get it off!"

Both men started laughing, holding their sides. "Haha! Yeah right, clean it off yourself!"

She made a noise of disgust and walked over to the water, not caring that she was getting her clothes wet. She knelt down and splashed some of the salty liquid on her shoulder, washing off the disgusting, warm goop that was there. Standing, she stomped back to the beach, glaring at them. "You two are completely useless. Next time, _you_ can go into the cave first."

Sasuke shook his head. "Oh ho ho, no. You, Sakura, are the one who wants to find the dragon so badly, and so you can go into the caves." He said, pointing at her.

"You know what I just remembered Sasuke?" the redhead asked.

"No, what Gaara?"

"I totally forgot. Why would the dragon be in a cave? He hates caves." He snickered, giving Sakura an evil grin.

She glared hatefully at him. "What? You wasted over half the day for nothing?" she yelled, her small frame shaking in her anger. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "And just where does the dragon actually like to go?" she strained in an attempt to hold in her anger, opening her eyes and looking at the two once more.

Gaara just scoffed. "What do I look like, his personal assistant? How the hell should I know?" he shrugged, walking off with Sasuke by his side. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Yeah, I'm starving. All this looking around has really got me hungry."

Sakura just stood there, her frustration with the entire situation bubbling to the surface. "But…you said you would help me." She said softly, trying to keep herself from crying, since she wanted to put on a tough front.

"Oh please, we've spent the entire day helping you look. Now we would like to actually go and do something fun. So why don't you just run-" Sasuke stopped talking as he looked at her over his shoulder. "You're not going to cry, are you? Because crying women are annoying." He said.

She frowned, though her bottom lip trembled slightly. She hated being called annoying, or useless, and that was exactly how she felt right now. "You know what? Go ahead and eat, I don't care. I will just continue to look by myself, since I work faster when I'm alone." She said, turning her back on them and walking off in the opposite direction. A tear slid down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, not wanting the weather to turn sour. Too late, another fell, and suddenly the sky became grey, warning everyone that it was going to rain soon. Frustrated, Sakura ran her hands through her hair and forced herself to stop showing her upset through tears, since she didn't want to get soaked by the rain.

Gaara watched her, a frown setting in one his face as he took note of the sky. He glanced at Sasuke and gave him a look saying he should probably just head back. He followed after the pink haired angel and sighed. "Sakura…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry really…"

She looked over at him, smiling humorlessly. "Please, I highly doubt you care about how I'm feeling right now." She said, lowering her hands from their spot in her hair. "And I wasn't crying, I'm just upset." She defended, crossing her arms.

He moved in front of her, leaning closer to her face and giving her a sympathetic look. "I am. Why don't you head back to the palace and rest, and tomorrow, I promise we will really help you, ok?"

She gave him a considering look. "Well…I do need to bathe, I still feel dirty from that stupid bat poop." Her nose scrunched up a bit. "I will meet you at the foot of the palace steps tomorrow just before noon. King Priam needs my assistance with battle plans. Something about the Greeks coming to invade or whatever." She said, throwing her hands in the air in a sign that she didn't really care.

He just laughed, watching her amusingly. "Well, we will be there and who knows? You may just find the dragon all by yourself."

* * *

Sakura sighed in contentment as she dried herself off from her bath. It had been incredibly relaxing, and now she knew without a doubt that there was not a trace of poop of her. She put on her sleeping gown, which was made of a thin, black silk that just barely covered her chest and flowed to the ground.

Once she brushed out her damp pink hair, she blew out the candles in her bedchamber and crawled into her large bed, lying on her stomach. It had been such a long and trying day, she couldn't wait to fall asleep. Shutting her eyes and sighing once more, it wasn't long until she began to dream, completely forgetting about the world around her.

It was nearing midnight when a soft sound drew closer, being defined as the flap of wings. A figure dropped down onto the open balcony and looked around the room before entering. Gaara's jade depths focused on the figure in the bed. Sakura was sound asleep, some of her hair covering her face. She really did look beautiful at night, with a soft glow as if she were the moon.

He moved into the room and silently got onto the bed, positioning himself above Sakura. He leaned down, placing both his hands on either side of her head and whispered into her ear. "Wake up, my beautiful Angel. I have come to claim you."

She stirred slightly, but buried her face deeper into her pillow. "Go away." She mumbled sleepily, still not fully awake. He nuzzled into her neck, kissing her soft flesh, moving the straps of her nightgown down her arms and smoothing his hand down her arm.

"I don't want to, and I know you don't want me to either."

As the sensation of something on top of her set in, and the fact that someone was talking to her seeped into her mind, Sakura's eyes shot open and her entire body stiffened reflexively. She couldn't see who it was, since they way that they were over her made it so that all she could see was out her balcony to the night sky. "Get out." She ordered, now that she had her wits about her.

"Sakura." Gaara breathed out, kissing down her now bare back, since he had pulled down her tunic. "If I leave, I cannot make you feel better. I know you had a rough day, it almost started raining."

"I feel fine, so your assistance is not required." She said stiffly, her body still tense, though she could not fully hide the reacting tremble her muscles did in response to what the dragon was doing to her. He smirked, kissing her shoulder and snaking his hands to her front, taking hold of her now exposed breasts and tugging on her sensitive buds.

"You spent all day looking for me and now you want me to leave?"

She arched into his touch unconsciously, her eyes shutting on their own at the feelings he was invoking in her. "I didn't spend all day looking for you, just most of it." She corrected. Then her brow furrowed. "How do you know that anyways?" she asked curiously.

He smirked, beginning to circle his fingers around her breasts. "Because I was watching you, how else would I know?"

"Well," she was interrupted when he pinched her delicate buds, causing her to whimper. "I can't be your mate…so…you'll just have to…find someone else." She eventually got out, having had to concentrate on speaking instead of what he was doing with his hands.

Gaara removed only one of his hands, pulling up the bottom of her gown and revealing her perfect behind. "Now are you sure that's what you want? It seems to me like you would enjoy being my mate." He kissed her neck, nibbling on her lobe and sliding one of his digits into her own want. "Really, _really_ enjoy it." He whispered huskily.

She gasped and her eyes shot open once more. "I…didn't say…I didn't enjoy it or didn't…want it." She bit her lip in order to hold in her moan. "I said I can't. There's a difference."

"You really think there is anything that would stop me from having you? Sakura, I am not just a dragon, I am the king of the dragons. Nothing is denied to me, not even you." He told her, sneaking in a second finger. "I will make you a woman and I will protect you from anything that might harm you."

"No." she shook her head into her pillow. "This is not what I want for myself. It isn't right." She told him, keeping her body perfectly still so as not to encourage his actions.

"How is this not right?" he asked, pausing his ministrations only for a moment before continuing, increasing his pace. He would make her writher beneath him and he hadn't even gotten started yet. "I am a man and you are a woman. This is the most natural and right thing two can do."

Sakura let out a pleasured shriek, immediately closing her mouth as an embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks. "N-no." she stammered, barely moving her hips against his hand. She just couldn't help herself, it felt too good, too…sinful. "You are a dragon, and I am an angel. The two were never meant to mix, therefore, it is wrong." She whimpered. "Besides, I have a duty to fulfill."

He ignored her protests, the need for her flesh almost overwhelming. "If it were wrong my dearest, it wouldn't feel so right." He said darkly, moving his hands from her insides and pushing up her night gown up further. "And I am going to show you how right I can make you feel." Before Sakura could even register what was happening she felt him penetrate her most private area. Gaara let out a low moan, sliding in fully before grabbing both her wrists and pulling her up onto her knees, keeping her like this so she still could not turn around and face him.

Sakura made a strangled noise, tears forming in the corners of her eyes at the pain of his intrusion. A large cloud covered the moon then, making the room darker. "It hurts." She whined, hanging her head down and trying to get a grip on the hurt she was feeling.

"I know…it will for just a little." He tried to say in a soothing manner, taking it slow, which was odd. Since any other time he had had sex, it wasn't for the woman's benefit, but his own. He wanted to be gentle with her, but at the same time show her where she belonged and who now had claims on her. He started slow, only moving out a bit before pushing back in so she could get a feel of him. She was so tight it was literally mind blowing. He took both her wrists in one hand and smoothed his hand up the arch of her back. After a while he started moving more and slightly faster. "Tell me when it feels good so I can increase your pleasure." He ordered.

She nodded silently, biting her lip to keep from making any pained noises. It felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside out, it hurt so badly that it was almost unbearable. After a few more minutes of his movements, she felt the intense feeling begin to fade, slowly being replaced by an odd sensation of heat. Warmth began to gather in the center of her being, and eventually, she didn't feel any pain at all. "It's gone now." She told him, wanting to know how exactly he could increase her pleasure, since at the moment she wasn't really feeling any.

He smirked, taking hold of her hips to steady himself before he began thrusting into her more quickly than before, he bit back a groan. She was just so tight and everything about her invited him, as if her insides were begging for him. He slammed into her, forcing himself fully inside before picking his pace back up and leaning forward over her. "I want you to scream." He whispered, nipping at her ear. "I want you to scream who your new master is."

She whimpered at his new pace, the warmth that had gathered in her beginning to spread throughout her body slowly. "But…I don't even know what to call you. You never told me your name."

"That isn't important right now. I'm the only dragon left, so all you need to know right now is that you belong to the last dragon. I will mark you in every way and you will be mine forever." He said sincerely, meaning every word. "I need a mate, and you are an immortal beauty, and I will keep you by my side for all eternity." He promised, hovering over her, wrapping his arm around her waist and rubbing her clit as he pounded into her from behind.

A pleasured moan came out of her mouth at the new sensation he was bringing her along with the feeling of him moving inside of her. She threw her head back and moved it to the side, baring her neck to him in a sign of submission. "Yes Master." She said a bit breathlessly, surprising even herself. It seemed that during acts such as this all her common sense flew out the window, and she was unable to fully grasp what was really going on, for once being selfish and thinking only of herself. She liked what he was making her feel, and so would please him in order to be able to continue to feel it. At her submission he increased his pace, angling his body a bit more so that he rubbed against her walls, increasing both their pleasure greatly.

"Yes," he spoke into her ear, biting down on her neck, pinching her clit between his thumb and middle finger. "Who do you belong to, you beautifully tainted angel?" he demanded, thrusting into her harshly to make sure she was absolutely aware of who was in control of her body.

"Y-you." She whimpered, rolling her hips and groaning at the feeling. "I belong only to you." She said, beginning to move against him in an attempt to match his pace and make him feel good as well. He released her arms finally, letting her support herself, knowing she understood she was forbidden to look back. He placed his firm hands on her hips and crouched over her, savoring the feel of her first time. Virgins were always the most satisfying, but for some reason, he just couldn't stop himself. _He_ was actually addicted to this body, to her scent, and her beautifully fading glow.

"Tell me Sakura, how do you feel now? Do you want it all?" Gaara smirked, watching her back and her eagerness to please him.

Her hands fisted in the sheets and she felt herself blush at his words. "Yes." She said softly, continuing to move against his pelvis. "I want everything you have to give me." She admitted embarrassingly.

He thrust into her one last and final time, pressing his toned stomach against her back and placing his hands over her, lacing them together as he released into her. "Then you accept me as your mate." He breathed into her ear, kissing her neck lovingly. A small smile actually made its way up his features.

At the feel of the hot liquid shooting inside of her, Sakura felt something in herself give way, and her torso collapsed onto the bed as her body shook convulsively. "Yes!" she shrieked softly in pleasure, as small tremors continued to pass through her. This was so amazing, she'd never thought she would ever be able to feel this good. Gaara kneeled over her, trailing kisses down her back, caressing her body with his light touch.

"You told me your name, my sweet tainted flower, it's only fair I offer you mine. But you already know of my name, so I will allow you to call me by my dragon name."

She almost turned around, curiosity shooting through her veins, but a strong hand gripped her jaw and forced her gaze back on the balcony. "Remember what I said. You are not allowed to see me…at least not yet. It would ruin everything."

"Sorry." She breathed out, panting slightly. After what had just transpired, she was incredibly exhausted, since her body had never been used in such a way before. Her brow furrowed in slight confusion at his words. If she already knew of his name, then did that mean she had met him in his human form before? But she was too tired to think about it any further right now, and so pushed that thought aside.

"My name as a dragon is…Araag. Until you realize my true name, this is what you will address me as." He kissed the top of her head, stroking her cheek tenderly. "Now, unfortunately I must leave you for the evening…it is almost dawn. So I ask, do you wish to see me again?" he asked, laying beside her and pulling her back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist and rubbing her sore pelvis in a very soothing manner, his finger tips heating so the muscles would feel relief.

She let out a contented sigh, closing her eyes as she nestled into his warmth. "Can I?" she asked sleepily, placing her hand over his.

"Anytime you want me, all you have to do is summon me by my name." he promised, leaning over just enough to kiss her temple before pulling the covers over her half naked body. He removed himself from the bed and allowed his wings to spread, so that he could hide his form from her. He walked to the balcony, the moon already gone from the sky and providing no light. "Goodnight my angel. Take it easy tomorrow, you will be sore, and I wouldn't want our sexual acts to bring you anything but pure bliss." And with that he took off, leaving her in the silence of the night.

Sakura sighed once more and closed her eyes, snuggling into the sheets. Her body felt entirely used, but in a good way. Not too long after, sleep overtook her.


	5. Alteration

**Cataclysm **

_Chapter Five_

-Alteration-

Sakura refrained from shifting in her seat, the pain between her legs making sitting uncomfortable. Her cheeks turned pink as she remembered exactly what had transpired in order for the pain to be there in the first place.

When she had woken up later that morning and seen her naked state, along with the spots of red on her nightgown, signifying the loss of her virginity, she had begun to freak out. She couldn't believe she had allowed something like that to happen. Now that she had been bedded by the dragon, she could no longer be with anyone else. Once an angel had mated someone, it was for life. Sadness threatened to overwhelm her, but she pushed it aside. She didn't even know anything about him. All she did know was that he made her feel incredible, and extremely cherished, odd as that sounded.

Taking a hold on her emotions, she had bathed and dressed for the day in an emerald tunic that matched her eyes and hung off her neck. It covered her breasts, leaving her entire back exposed and flowing to the floor. In order to keep it tight around her, a golden rope was tied just under her breasts, giving her a bit of cleavage. She wore a golden band around her upper arm and another around her opposite wrist. Her hair was twisted and held up in a golden clip, her bangs and a few stray wisps curled into ringlets and framing her face.

She began to fidget slightly, bored of the war meeting that she hadn't been paying attention to at all. From what she could gather, the Greeks had landed on the shores of Troy the other day and ravaged the Temple of Apollo, and the Trojans were trying to figure out how to retaliate. Before she could comment on the fact that she thought the entire endeavor was stupid, Priam spoke up.

"Well, now that we have everything figured out, why don't we all go to breakfast?" he asked, standing. Everyone agreed and began to file out of the room. Sakura rose, wincing slightly at how stiff she was before following everyone. Naruto bounded in front of her, talking animatedly with Prince Paris about something or other. Hinata walked next to her leader, giving the pink haired woman a sideways glance.

"Sakura," she whispered softly. "Are you feeling well?" she asked, actually curious. She had noticed the other woman acting a bit different than normal, not to mention she was walking stiffly, or the fact that her natural, angelic glow seemed to have dimmed slightly, which only happened when an angel mated with any creature other than their own.

Sakura looked over at her friend and smiled slightly. "Yes Hinata, I am perfectly fine, just a little tired is all." She reassured her. Just then they entered the dining hall of the palace, and the smile fell off her face when she saw to very familiar guards sitting at the table. "What are they doing here?" she asked, looking to the king.

Priam laughed at her. "Why, Lady Athena, do you not recognize them?" he asked, causing some of the generals to chuckle.

She crossed her arms, giving the king a hard stare. "Of course I recognize them, but that does not answer my question as to what they are doing here."

Gaara stepped forward, a dark smirk plastered on his face as he locked gazes with Sakura. "Why Athena, it is the great lord of the dead, Hades." He introduced, gesturing back towards Sasuke.

She raised a brow at him and then looked at the dark haired man, obvious skepticism on her face, since they both knew it wasn't true. "Uh huh." Was all she said.

"This is awesome!"Naruto shouted, causing everyone's gazes to go to him. "We need some more men around here!" he declared, putting his arm around Sasuke, causing him to stiffen and glare at the blonde.

"Get. Off." He said threateningly, changing his eyes to red. Everyone gasped at the change, except for Sakura, whose eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Gaara walked up to the two, peeling Naruto off of his friend, his glare turning just as icy. "Apollo, please refrain from touching the Lord of the Underworld. He would appreciate a five foot radius at all times."

Naruto blinked and looked down, counting out his steps. "Oh right! Sure! But how come you are so close?"

"Because Hades likes me." He snapped back, turning his gaze to Sakura, noting her awkward stance. He couldn't help but smirk as he approached her. "A pleasure, Lady Athena," he bowed lowly, taking her hand and kissing it tenderly, never letting his eyes leave hers.

"I'm sure." She said, unconvinced. She slipped her hand from his grip and rubbed over the spot where his lips had touched her skin. It was odd, since the gesture had felt similar to when the dragon had kissed her, but she dismissed the thought quickly. She may not be completely happy with the situation she had gotten herself in, but she had committed herself to the dragon, and so she would allow no man to touch her in such an intimate way.

Gaara just gave her a knowing look, before focusing his gaze on Priam. "Hades and I require lodging, good King. Preferably as close to Athena as possible." He said, glancing back at Sakura, letting his fingertips run down her exposed arm. She shivered slightly, but stepped away from the redhead, alarm on her face.

"What? Why me?" she asked.

"Because I don't like him." Sasuke nodded towards Naruto. "And she is too quiet." He nodded to Hinata then.

Gaara nodded, "Yes and you are the most feisty. We might make good use of that." He smirked, giving her a once over. "Unless of course…you are already spoken for."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "I belong to no man, and if I did, it certainly wouldn't be someone like _you_." She said, raising her chin in a defiant manner. And it was true, she didn't belong to a man, she belonged to a dragon, something she never thought she would ever say.

"Of course," he bowed respectfully, walking around her, leaning closer to her ear. "If you don't belong to a man, then it would appear this goddess is a free lancer in the area of sexual pleasure."

She stiffened from his words, but successfully kept her face neutral. "I don't know what you're talking about. Now if you don't mind, I'm hungry." She said, stepping away from him and moving to take her seat at the table.

He smirked, watching her body and making sure his desire wasn't showing. Ever since he had had a taste of her, she was all he could think about. Dragons were much different than angels in the sense to where they could have multiple partners. But they did only have one mate, and never before had he actually filled anyone with his seed. He wanted her, more than just physically. He wanted her to mother his children and stay by his side forever.

She was beautiful, and so innocent despite the light he had stolen. Now that he had owned her body with his true self, he needed to woo her with his human form, show her that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He took the seat beside her as everyone else sat down and thanked the present gods and the ones in the heavens for the meal. "So." Gaara began, taking a sip of his wine. "Are we going to go look for the dragon today?"

Sakura let out a small sigh. She couldn't very well go looking for the dragon, because if she were to find him, she would be expected to kill him, and she wouldn't be able to do that. Regardless of the fact that she felt nothing but lust for the beast, she was forever bound to him now, and so a small part of her cared for him. "Despite my wishes, Artemis and I have been asked by Helen and Andromache to accompany them to some…hot springs…thing." Her brow furrowed as she tried to describe it. It was an odd human custom that women liked to do frequently, and when they found out she had never been to one, they insisted that she and Hinata join them.

"That dragon has been burning our crops. I didn't care before, but now that the Greeks are here, it is posing a problem." Priam spoke up.

Gaara just rolled his eyes, "Aren't they here because your lecherous son stole a slutty queen?"

Sakura snorted slightly and quickly put her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile. Sasuke let out a bored sigh. "Seeing as how that is your problem, oh _great_ king," he mocked, "leave the dragon business to us. I am sure it will be a while before he reappears again, now that there are four gods present instead of three." He said, sending the redhead a meaningful glance. He wanted to toy with the people as a god for a while, and so didn't really feel like tagging along to look for something that was right in front of everyone.

"Most likely due to all the commotion he will stay low for awhile. Probably found something more interesting to do with his nights than burning fields and eating people." Gaara nodded, starting to tear into the meat that was offered to them.

"Well I think it should be killed as soon as possible." Paris said, giving the redhead a harsh glare, since he had been insulted.

Gaara turned his glare to him, but smirked. "Are you insinuating that the great Lord Hades destroy something that is originally from the Underworld? It's not evil, it's just a dark creature. It simply can't help it, kind of like you can't help bedding maidens that don't belong to you."

This time Sakura giggled, and quickly shoved some of her meat into her mouth and began to chew it, since she didn't want to offend anybody. She swallowed and took a drink, her emerald gaze turning to the young prince. "You should focus on your own battle, Prince, and leave the dragon to those who actually know what they're doing." She said, silencing him.

"And _you_ know what you are doing?" Helen challenged. "How do you know so much about this beast? Even the gods are not familiar with the ancient fire breathing serpents."

"Serpent?" Gaara stood, looking furious. Then he froze, noticing everyone was wide eyed from his reaction. He sat back down and resumed eating, not bothering to explain himself.

Sakura looked from the redhead back to Helen. "I am probably almost as familiar with such ancient beasts as you would call them as you are with frequenting a bed other than your husband's." She insulted, returning to her meal and effectively dismissing the woman.

Everyone continued to eat in silence, except for Naruto, who had decided that since the women were going to a spring, he and the two new guests of the castle should hang out to get to know each other better. Giving the redhead a mocking sympathetic look, she rose from the table and left for the spring.

* * *

After spending the entire day getting various massages and being rubbed with various things that not only made her skin smooth as silk but caused her to smell like flowers, Sakura closed the door to her room and let out a sigh. The sun had just set, and she knew that Araag would come to her soon.

She took off her jewelry and slipped out of her tunic, putting on a nearly sheer, white nightgown that gave her a slightly ethereal look. It was a bit foolish, but to her this would be like her mating night, since the real one had happened to her so suddenly, and she was wearing black, not white. After brushing through her hair, she began to pace in front of her balcony, her hands clasped behind her back.

This entire thing was wrong, but there was no going back now. She was bound to him for the rest of eternity, whether she liked it or not. She had already considered running away and going back to heaven, but after her indiscretion, there was no way she would be allowed back into the golden city. Not to mention the fact that Araag would be most furious with her, and she couldn't bring herself to intentionally hurt or upset the beast.

She brought up her right hand and began to bite her thumbnail as she continued to pace. She had told him that she belonged to him, had submitted herself to him completely, something she shouldn't have done. Regardless, she still would have been bound to him, but at least then it wouldn't have been willingly. A sigh escaped her lips and she stopped her nervous walk, crossing her arms. She did enjoy the things he could do to her, and took a small pleasure out of the fact that he had tainted her. When he spoke to her in that deep voice of his as he thrust into her, it made her feel like turning into a puddle of goo.

Perhaps she should try to get to know him, since she was stuck till the end of her days. That way, there was still a chance that she could grow to love the beast. She'd always been a very compassionate person, and so she didn't think it would be too difficult for her feelings to grow into something other than lust if she just continued to let him visit her at night.

Nodding to herself, she blew out the candles and crawled onto her bed, where she had decided to wait for him. She gave the black sheets an uncertain look, wanting to try and appear appealing to the dragon, like she had seen other women do before in her travels through the city. Taking a deep breath, she lay down on her back and bent her legs at the knee slightly, twisting so that her legs were sideway and her torso was face up. She draped an arm across her stomach and placed the other next to her head, turning her head to face the balcony, where she knew he would appear. She was still sore from the night before, but hoped that he would make the feeling go away with his touch. As time seemed to pass slowly, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and drifted off into a light slumber.

It was much later when a thump jolted her awake. Before she could stop herself, her eyes searched the balcony, and the beautiful moonlight allowed her to see a hooded form. She sat up, staring wide eyed at the figure. It was the first time she was actually seeing the mass of the man who claimed to be the dragon. He stepped forward, wearing a red cloak, the hood large enough to cover his face and hide it in the darkness, but exposed his lips and his firm jaw.

She could see even from there and in this light just how amazing his body was. The cloak was open, and the only thing he wore beneath it was a loose pair of cloth pants. "I told you I would return." He spoke in his alluring voice that seemed to make her hair stand on end.

"I believed you." She said, tilting her head back a ways as he walked closer to the bed.

He stopped by the bed, offering his hand out to her. She attempted to get a glimpse of his face, but it was covered in shadow from every angle. Taking his hand in hers, she sat up so that her legs were tucked under her. "Why can't I see your face?" she asked softly, her large emerald eyes staring innocently up at him.

"I prefer to make love to you instead of having you try and kill me." He snickered.

Her brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything, knowing that he wouldn't elaborate any further anyways. She rose until she was on her knees, and hesitantly placed her hand on his bare chest, having never touched him this intimately before. She gazed at her hand against his skin, and then slowly brought it up to where she assumed his eyes were beneath the shadows of the cloak. "I still hurt a little." She complained, only slightly understanding why. But she wanted the pain to go away, and so was looking to him to help rid her of it.

"And you want me to replace it?" he asked, wanting to hear her say it aloud.

"Please." She asked.

"How."

She blinked as an embarrassed blush made its way to her cheeks. "The…same way you put it there." She said softly, looking away from him. When she saw his smirk, her blush only darkened. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a thin cloth.

"I will. But tonight, I want to make love to you as lovers, and knowing you, you won't be able to quail your curiosity. So put this on and I will take care of the rest." He said, leaning back slightly to take in her full appearance. She looked absolutely heavenly. "I like this little gown of yours, though I would appreciate it more if it were on the floor." He gestured with his head, hoping she caught the hint.

Her face turned a deep shade of crimson and she took the cloth from his hand, reaching up and tying it over her eyes tightly so that she couldn't see a thing. Taking a fortifying breath for courage, she placed her hands on the bed and moved to the edge, slowly letting her feet touch the stone floor so that she could stand. Her hands shook as she reached up and pushed the cloth from her shoulders, causing the gown to pool at her feet. Still embarrassed about being naked in front of him, she brought her hands up to hide her chest from his gaze.

Gaara lifted his hand and pulled off his hood, tossing the cloak aside. He took in her wonderful and flawless body, memorizing every curve and dip of her form, since his sight was actually better at night. He gripped the hem of his pant line and slid them down, standing naked along with her. He moved closer to her, tracing his fingertips along her hips and slowly up till he got to her arms, moving them to reveal her breasts.

"You are so beautiful." He said softly, leaning down and taking one of her soft mounds in his hand and placing his mouth over her already hardened nipple. He took the other in his free hand, playing with the tender center and listening to her moans.

"Ah," she gasped, arching into his touch and placing her hands on his head, gripping the short hairs she could feel there and holding him against her chest. He switched, giving his attention to her other breast. When he straightened, he touched his index finger under her chin and pressed his lips against hers.

"My mate," he mumbled into her warm lips, lowering his other hand and rubbing her wet folds. "You're already so excited."

She moved her hips against his hand, sliding her hands down his shoulders and resting them on his muscular biceps. "I can't help it." She said, kissing him once more. "You make me feel incredible things I never thought existed."

"Of course I do." He smirked, even though she couldn't see it. "Light is always tempted by darkness, and you are no different." He pulled away from her then and swept her into his arms, holding her bridal style. He laid her on the bed and moved on top of her, kissing her neck and then her lips once more. He positioned himself, not wanting to make her wait any longer, but he was devious. He leaned closer, rubbing his erection against her clit at a slow pace. "How much do you want it my sweet little one?"

She instantly spread her legs so the he would have better access to her most intimate part and let out a whine, gripping his arms once more. "Please." She begged, moving her hips in an attempt to get him to enter her.

He set his hands on either side of her head and moved back, sliding into her slowly so that this time she could adjust to the feel of his length inside of her. He stopped once he was fully inside and brought her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. She let out a gasp and arched her back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her chest against his, allowing him to go deeper. "You feel so big." She said in slight awe, rubbing behind his ears with her thumbs. Wanting for that pressure to build up so that she could feel that release, she rotated her hips against his, prompting him to move.

He groaned loudly, pulsating inside her. Her body gave him more pleasure than he had ever felt with a woman before. "You feel amazing," he replied back, pulling out almost fully until he pumped back into her, starting the pace.

"Please go faster." She asked, moving with him. "I don't want you to hold anything back." She said, leaning up and trailing kisses along his jaw, biting the corner when she reached it.

"Nothing back? Are you sure that your body will be able to withstand that?" he asked, taking in a sharp breath at her continued antics. It seemed she was a lot naughtier than she led on.

Sakura smirked slightly and licked the shell of his ear and bit the lobe lightly. "I'm stronger than I look." She whispered, grinding into him. "Show me who my master is."

Excitement shot throughout his entire body, and she could feel the change in his body heat as it climbed. "I knew I chose correctly. You were destined to be mine." He whispered, gripping onto the sheets beneath her as he began to pound away at her, increasing his speed as the seconds passed. It felt amazing, her walls trying to tighten around him before he pulled out and thrust back into her.

"Yes." She said, throwing her head back as she tried to keep up with his pace, wanting to move along with him. Her grip on him tightened as she felt the warmth she so wanted begin to build within her. He growled excitedly, moving his hips faster, making sure there wasn't a pause in his fluid movement. His mind began to fade, lost in everything that was her. The feel, the smell, the sound, it was wonderful, her pure essence that wanted so badly to be defiled. In their ecstasy, Gaara's massive wings emerged, surrounding them as they rubbed against the brilliant feathery white that laid flat on the bed.

A loud moan escaped Sakura's throat, as her entire mind and body focused on him. The way he felt, the way he sounded, even his smell, it surrounded her completely. And at the feel of his wings rubbing against hers, she felt safe, surrounded in a cocoon of warmth and pleasure. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to continue his line, to feel what it was like to give life to another being that was a part of you. She wasn't a fool though, and knew that it would be incredibly difficult for him to impregnate her, only because they were two completely different beings. One of his own kind would be easier, but that was impossible now. But, when two things on the opposite ends of the spectrum came together, the chances were low that she would become with child so soon into the mating. Regardless of this fact though, she kissed him passionately, wrapping her legs around his waist to allow him more access to her. "I want your children, Araag. I want to give you an heir." She panted, feeling her release coming at any moment.

His eyes widened slightly, but he let his body take action before his hesitation could be perceived as something else. "You will bear me a powerful heir Sakura." He told her, feeling her insides constrict him. He knew she was at her limit and he was approaching his as well, which was odd, he couldn't believe she was actually making him use all his energy. "A half breed…it's never been done before." He whispered into her ear, giving in a few final thrusts before slamming into her and filling her with his seed. She arched her back, screaming his name as their fluids mixed, overflowing. He took hold of her face, kissing her deeply. "I am the strongest creature of the dark, and you are the most pure being in the universe. Our offspring…will be untouchable." He promised, lavishing her lips with his own.

She thread her fingers through his hair and kissed him passionately, loving the pure euphoria she was in. "Mm, and the process is quite enjoyable as well." She said against his lips, wriggling her hips even though he had already reached completion. Her words surprised even her, because usually she was too embarrassed to say anything so forward.

"I'm so glad I could bring you such pleasure, I live to please my mate." He said against her lips, pulling out of her then as he hovered over her. "Any time you wish for me, you know to call me." He told her, kissing down her body. She arched her back, letting out a contented sigh.

"Will you come see me every night?" she asked, her wings fluttering slightly in a sign of uncertainty. She didn't want to seem clingy or anything, but sometimes she felt lonely, and in a sense, Araag knew her better than anyone. Plus, once an angel was mated, they liked to see their mate constantly. They were very affectionate creatures, and needed to express their feelings daily in order to feel that they were pleasing their other half, even if they didn't do anything physical and just talked, the fact that they were together was enough. Though, Sakura doubted that that would be enough for her, given that she really liked the way he made her feel.

He smiled genuinely, kissing both her cheeks. "I will come to you every night, make love to your wonderful body, and make you feel like the goddess you pretend to be. But," he stopped, watching her frown. "I will only do this for a week. The Greeks are making quite a fuss down at the beach, in seven days if you cannot find me and claim me as your mate face to face, then I will leave you for an entire month. I need to know you are worthy of being my mate. Prove your affection, and submit yourself to my human form. I promise to give you little hints, my sweet Arukas."

Her frown increased at the name he had called her. Was that some type of dragon language? But, an entire month? She didn't know if she'd be able to make it through a whole month without her mate, she might just die. "Okay." She said softly, trying not to let her slight alarm show through her voice at the thought of going a month without him. She knew it was only if she couldn't find him in his human form within the next week, but what if she didn't? What if she wasn't good enough? She didn't want to disappoint him, she wanted him to be proud of her. As her breathing quickened slightly in her growing panic, clouds began to gather outside from her threatening tears. Gaara noticed this, and then watched in slight fascination as they began to recede. He looked down at her, watching the panic leave her face, the crinkle in her brow now gone, replaced with what appeared to be determination. Sakura refused to disappoint him. She was absolutely going to figure out who he was, no matter what.

He kissed her forehead, cupping her face with his hands and planting one last kiss on her lips. "Goodnight my sweet mate." He told her, pulling away and grabbing his cloak from the floor and then his pants. "Until next time." He said from the balcony. Sakura sat up and ripped the blindfold down, trying to get a look at him, but the only thing she could make out before he took off was his silhouette.


	6. Confliction

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Six_

-Confliction-

The next morning found Sakura struggling to brush a large knot out of her hair. After Araag had left her last night, she had tossed and turned, her nightmares making it hard for her to find sleep. In her dreams, she was running, whether it was from or towards something, she didn't know. But she was shouting her mate's name frantically, and he wasn't coming to her the way he promised. Then, she found him, wearing that same cloak that hid his features from her.

In the dream she had felt relief, and had hugged him tightly. But he sneered at her and told her that she was unworthy of his attentions. She begged him to give her more time to figure out who he was, pleaded for him to stay, but nothing she tried worked. He pushed her from him and turned into his dragon form, his massive wings spreading as he prepared to take flight. The last thing he had said to her was that he would come back in a month, and the only reason he would do so is because he wanted the heirs she could give him, nothing more. He flew off then, leaving her crying by herself in the dark void that she had been running in.

She woke up with tears streaming down her face from her dream, and saw that it was drizzling outside. Quickly wiping away the offending water, she rose and washed her face, getting ready for the day. She had decided to wear a pink tunic today that matched her hair and was made of a sheer material, giving off the illusion that through it you could see her small frame. It tied together on her right shoulder and scooped diagonally across her chest, leaving the opposite shoulder bare. Around her waist she had tied a golden sash, letting the excess fabric flow down her hip with the rest of the tunic. She was wearing her golden sandals that tied up her ankles, and had donned a light cape in the same fabric as her tunic, though it only hung off one shoulder as well. Wanting to leave her hair down, she had begun to brush it, only to reach this insufferable knot on the back of her head.

Smiling triumphantly once she had finally gotten rid of it, she put on her golden arm and wrist bands and then left her room. As she walked down the hallways she looked outside and saw that the sun had come out, quickly drying the water left by the rain. She was glad for this, because she didn't want anyone to know that she had been crying earlier. Though, only a mystical being such as herself would know, since it was not common knowledge that when an angel cried it rained. But still, she liked her privacy, and didn't want her friends, or Araag, for that matter, to ask her about it.

Rounding the corner, she stopped in her tracks when she nearly bumped into Hinata. "Oh, Hinata, I'm sorry." She said, since no one else was around.

The ebony haired woman looked at her with wide, startled eyes. "N-no Sakura, i-it is f-fine!" she stuttered, bowing.

Sakura gave the other woman an odd look. Hinata only ever stuttered when she was extremely nervous, and so the pink haired woman was confused as to what was going on. "Well, since I ran into you, do you want to go and look for the dragon today?" she asked. Hinata's eyes widened in alarm.

"Oh, no Sakura, you don't have to worry about it. Naruto and I will look for the dragon, you just take the day to relax." She said.

"Are you sure?" she asked, uncertain.

"Yes," Hinata nodded. "We haven't really been much help since arriving here, and so have both decided to make it up to you and let you have a day to yourself, while we search. We can't look at the beach because of the Greeks, but we will go and search the mountains, if you wish."

Sakura considered this. After everything that had happened to her last night, she could use a day to herself. She needed to figure out who Araag really was, and if she was left alone her mind would be better able to think about all the possibilities. And, she knew that even if she were to go with her companions to search for him, he wouldn't be found. That being the final thing that swayed her decision, she nodded. "If you are sure that is what you want to do, I really appreciate it." She said.

Hinata nodded once more. "I insist. You just leave everything to us." She said, stepping around her and quickly walking away. Sakura watched her friend leave in confusion. Shrugging off the other woman's odd behavior, she headed for the dining hall in order to grab something to eat before she began her investigation. It wouldn't do to think on an empty stomach after all.

* * *

Hinata let out a relieved sigh once she was out of sight of her leader. Unknown to Sakura, the ebony haired angel had seen her last night with the dragon. As she was getting ready to go to sleep, she heard some odd noises coming from the other woman's room, and so had gone to check things out. And what she had seen had shocked her to no end.

She couldn't see the dragon's face, as his wings were covering not only him, but their leader, but what she had seen was enough. It all made sense now as to Sakura's odd behavior the day before. That beast had stolen her light and bound her to him forever, an act so cruel that it broke Hinata's heart. She didn't blame the pink haired angel for participating in the act of love making with him, it was only natural for a holy being to want to please their mates. But the fact that he had done it to her against her will, since she knew Sakura would never willingly betray her people, was just horrible.

That was why she had volunteered herself and Naruto to look for the dragon today. If Sakura were with them when they found him, she wouldn't let anything happen to him. But, if Hinata and the blonde man could find him on their own and kill him, then Sakura would be freed. They could go back to Heaven and plead her case. Surely, with two angels on her side, they would be able to overlook what she had done. Nodding in order to reassure herself, Hinata continued on her search for Naruto. She wanted to make that dragon pay for his sin as soon as possible.

* * *

Sakura let out a sigh and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked out at the sea from the cliff she was on. After eating a quick breakfast, which thankfully nobody was there for, she had decided to come out here to do her thinking. She really liked the beach, despite her horrible experiences on it. More so, she liked the ocean. It was just so vast and dark and mysterious, almost like her dragon.

She checked the grass around her to make sure it had dried fully before sitting, placing her hand out and leaning on it as the other played with the green stems in her contemplation. Just who could Araag really be? He said she knew his true name, which meant that she had been introduced to him before. But she had been introduced to many men since she had come to earth, and she didn't remember all of their names.

A lot of the men she had met were soldiers of the king, because none of the villagers ever told her their names unless she asked for them. The king had wanted her to meet all of his best warriors, hoping that she would bless them for the war to come, or choose one to bed her and hopefully create a demigod. Sakura snorted at that. As if she would let any human touch her in such a way, especially now that she had mated the dragon.

Her head tilted to the side and rested on her shoulder as her thoughts drifted to her mate. Even though she didn't know much about him, and had never seen his face, there were still things she was able to pick up. He was definitely a fine specimen of a man, and very powerful in whichever form he chose to take. On top of that, he was uncharacteristically gentle with her sometimes, which made him all the more endearing to her. But at the same time, he was very possessive, liking her to remind him constantly to whom she belonged, and who was the only one who could bring her pleasure. He liked to dominate her, and her submission pleased him greatly.

So, if she really thought about it, as a human, he would be arrogant and self-assured, and extremely confident in his abilities. Well, that was about half of the male population in Troy, and at that thought her shoulders slumped a bit, and she began to pull the grass up from the ground. She couldn't help but think that her dream was going to come true. That she wasn't good enough for him, that she would let him down. Of course she knew that she was a very clever and strong angel, otherwise she wouldn't have been chosen in the task of finding and killing the dragon, but she hadn't even been able to do that. Instead, she had wound up submitting to him and allowing him to be the first, and only, being to possess her body. If she couldn't even do that one, simple mission correctly, then how could she figure out who her mate was and call him so face-to-face in his human form? Letting out a dejected sigh, she let her mind wander back to her nightmare, completely unaware that the sky had begun to turn grey and of the other presence approaching the cliffs.

Gaara stopped once he reached the top of the incline to the cliffs, staring at the back of his one and only lovely little angel. A small smirk made its way across his features as he continued towards her, stopping only inches from her back. "Hello there Sakura. Out here enjoying the view?" he asked, actually sounding pleasant, with no hint of mockery.

Startled, Sakura straightened a bit and looked back at the redhead. "Oh, um, yeah, I suppose." She said softly, looking back down at the grass she was currently pulling up. "The weather isn't that great though." She tried to smile, though she knew it was because of her dark mood.

He sat down beside her, staring out at the ocean. "I heard that it's usually like this when an angel is sad and that it even rains when they cry."

"That's interesting." Was all she said as she pulled up another handful of grass and tossed it away.

"I know right." He leaned back as well. "So why are you out here, you know it's dangerous right? The Greeks are just down the way."

"I'll be fine." She said, shifting so that her knees were to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and rest her chin on them, letting out another sigh. "I just needed to think is all."

"Anything you want to talk about?" he asked. It was odd, now that he had claimed her, he wanted to know why she felt the things he didn't. He'd never fully mated with a woman before, so these reactions were a bit abnormal. He'd never cared for anything until her.

She looked over at him. "Do take a lot of stock in dreams? I know a lot of humans do, some even believe that they'll come true." She asked.

Gaara was a bit taken back by the depth of the question. "Is there a particular dream you've had that has frightened you into such a state of worry?" he wondered, almost freezing. He tried to keep his expression solid, but he realized he had just told her how she was feeling.

Sakura debated on whether or not she should share her nightmare with him. She figured she might as well, since she obviously hadn't hidden her upset as well as she thought she had, if he was able to tell. Though, it would have to be modified a bit, so that she didn't give anything away. "I had a nightmare." She began. "Usually I don't have dreams, and when I do they're pleasant, so I guess I'm just a little startled."

"You don't feel startled." He stated, slapping a hand to his forehead for another mess up. This was _a lot_ more difficult than he thought to control not speaking about her feelings. "I just meant, that you seem nervous or worried."

"I'm afraid." She said softly, looking out to the ocean.

He frowned. "Of what?" he lifted his hand from the soft grass and hesitated for only a moment before resting it on her shoulder. He rubbed her shoulder with his thumb in a soothing manner, trying to melt away her sadness. She could feel his heat, it was almost abnormally high for a human, but comforting.

"Failing." She said. "Not being good enough. Ending up alone." Tears welled up in her eyes then, and she quickly moved to wipe them away, not wanting it to start raining again. Because if it did, then Gaara would become suspicious, especially after his comment about angels.

He pulled her into his lap with relative ease and wrapped his arms around her. "You won't fail." He promised. He wanted this ache to leave him, and knew it was only because his mate was so distraught. He suddenly regretted placing this heavy burden of a challenge on her. But he wanted to know the lengths she would go for him before he entrusted something as important as his children to her and his own life.

Sakura instinctively curled into his warmth, laying her head on his shoulder and gripping his tunic. She took a deep breath, trying to quell her emotions. "But I couldn't even complete the mission for which I was sent down here to do." She said in a pained whisper. "In my dream I was alone in the dark. And I was told I was only good for having children." She admitted.

"Well…" he began, running his fingers through her light pink locks. "I think that dreams are not of the future, but of what is on our minds at the time. So, it's only what you are thinking, not what truly is. If that makes sense. Here, come on, I know how to cheer you up." He smirked, picking her up as he stood and headed down the cliffs towards the small beach below. "Let's find some sea shells and make a necklace."

She wrapped her arms around his neck for support and looked up at him. "I've never made a necklace before, I'm not exactly sure how it's done." She said. It was odd, she was surprisingly comfortable in his grasp, though she shouldn't be. She felt safe, and was soothed by his touch. But she was only supposed to feel like this in her mate's grasp, right? Guilt filled her slightly, but she brushed it away, not wanting to think of Araag right now.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you." He said, once they made it down to the beach he took off her sandals for her and set her down on the cold sand. He took off his own and set them both on a high rock. "Now all you have to do is find some shells that you like." He walked a bit off, looking around the sand. The sun was just now touching the horizon and reflecting off the water, making the sky a bright orange.

Sakura looked over at him and then focused on the sand, looking for some shells. She bent over and picked up a rather large shell that was white, examining it to make sure it was perfect. Then she spotted a smaller, spiral shell that was white with a few splashes of a dark red and a bit of orange, and immediately decided that she wanted that shell to be in the center of her necklace. But it was further into the water, and so she picked up the hem of her tunic so that it wouldn't get wet, revealing her calves. She quickly walked into the cold water and bent to pick up the shell, squealing in delight when a wave crashed over her, soaking her arm and part of her top, and higher up her legs. She ran out of the water laughing, and looked over at Gaara, her first smile of the day on her face.

He watched her, a small smile of his own showing. They continued to look for shells, when the sun had sunk lower beneath the water they met back up and showed the other what they had found. Sakura gasped, seeing the ones Gaara had found. They were absolutely beautiful and flawless. "Look," he smirked, pulling out a milky white misshapen sphere. "I found a pearl in a clam that was near the shore."

"It's pretty." She said in awe, looking at it. She gave him a curious look. "So, are you going to put it on a necklace and give it to one of the many women you've wooed into your bedchamber?" she asked. She heard the rumors going around the palace about the amount of women coming and going from the section where the redhead and the fake Hades were staying.

"Actually," he paused, looking up at her. "I was going to give it to you. If you wanted it."

Her eyes widened. "R-really?" she asked, somewhat breathless. "But, I couldn't, I mean, why would you give something so pretty to me?"

He paused, making sure he didn't say anything too obvious as to who he really was. "Because…I want to. You make me…elated. And despite what you have heard, I have bedded no woman since my arrival in the palace. Sasuke on the other hand, well…" he laughed, glancing off awkwardly. His ebony haired friend had gone through at least ten of the city's virgins by now.

Sakura looked up at him in consideration as she arranged her shells in the order she wanted for her necklace. "How do I make you elated? To my knowledge, this is the first time we've spent time together and not insulted or angered the other in some form or fashion." She said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He smirked, searching through his tunic before pulling out some thin string. He measured it out and let one of his nails grow claw-like as he cut the thin wire. "Here you go." He offered, showing her then how to string them on so they wouldn't fall off. "Besides, I enjoyed every moment I spent with you."

She tilted her head to the side, her brow scrunched together slightly. "You do?" she looked down, beginning to create her necklace. "I mean, I'll be the first to admit I haven't exactly been all that pleasant to you since we met."

He gave her a sly look, already nearly finished with his own. "Well, aren't girls supposed to be mean to the boys they like?"

"What?" she sputtered, caught completely off guard by his question. "Of course not, that's ridiculous." She said, looking down to finish her necklace in an attempt to hide the blush that had made its way across her cheeks. She didn't like him, did she? It was impossible. She was already mated. But, she had to admit, Gaara did have some good qualities that she hoped Araag possessed as well.

He just shook his head, laughing a bit. He stepped closer to her, showing her his completed work. "There, you like it?"

She looked up at him, the blush still on her cheeks as she tied off her necklace. "It's lovely." She said with a small smile, meaning it.

"Great," he smiled, feeling utterly blown away. He almost hated all the frilly emotions she was forcing him to feel, but this was nice. He felt her bliss and her joy, something he had never felt before. It was different than the satisfaction he got from killing or accomplishing devious tasks. She turned around and lifted up her hair, allowing him to tie the necklace around her throat. Once it was in place she touched it gingerly with her fingertips, unable to quell the sudden happiness she was feeling. She turned around suddenly, and was startled to see that their faces were so close.

"Um…" she blinked, her face getting darker. "Do you want my necklace?" she asked suddenly, holding it up between them to try and make some space.

"Do you want me to have it?"

"Well, you gave me yours, so it's only fair." She reasoned. "Like a trade." She said, though in reality she did want him to have it. Something to remember her by, since they would part ways eventually, and for some reason she felt it would be soon. He took it from her and tied it around his own neck.

"Very nice." He nodded, glancing up and looking around. "Wow…would you look at the stars."

She looked up at the stars and nodded. "Yeah, they are really pretty tonight." She said, and then suddenly went wide eyed, remembering that Araag was going to come and see her tonight. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, standing quickly. "Um, I have to go and…uh…polish my sword." She made up, putting on her sandals.

He watched her scramble, calling out more excuses as she tried to make her way gracefully up the cliff. He waved after her, finally seeing her disappear over the top. Gaara smirked, rubbing at his jaw. "Now time to stir up the cauldron."

* * *

Sakura hastily made her way to her room in the palace, shutting her bedroom door behind her. Scrambling, she lifted her foot and tried to pull off her sandal, but it got stuck on her foot. "Oh come on!" she said under her breath, hopping on her other foot and yanking it off with a bit too much force, causing her to fall back onto the floor with a startled yelp. Recovering quickly, she sat up and pulled off the other one. Then she rose and began to pull off her jewelry that she had worn that day and dropped it to the floor, except for the necklace Gaara had given her. She ran and leapt onto the bed, rolling on top of the sheets before sitting up and looking around in slight alarm, her hair a bit mussed. Thinking she was alone, she let out a relieved sigh and let her head fall forward.

"You're late." A voice startled her. The dragon emerged from the shadows in the corner of her flame lit room.

She looked over at him, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry, I got side-tracked." She said.

He walked forward, towards the only light in the room. He had on his cloak, hiding most of his face but she was finally given a slight glance at the lower half of his face. But he was frowning. "Side-tracked doing…what, _exactly_?" he demanded, lifting his hand up and letting it hover over the flames. Suddenly, they vanished as if he had absorbed the heat.

"Um, I was down at the beach making a necklace." She said, feeling slightly nervous at his demeanor.

He stepped closer to her, stopping at the foot of the bed. "With that soldier."

"Yes."

Gaara moved around the bed then, he was glad for her fear, it was making it much easier to keep from smirking and laughing at her, telling her it was all a joke. "And what of this?" he asked, reaching forward and touching the pearls hanging around her neck.

"It was a present." She said softly, guilt beginning to well up in her.

"From him." He stated, making his voice sound sharp. "Do you love him?"

Her eyes widened even more. "No!" she said, shaking her head vigorously. "I was upset earlier, and…he was trying to cheer me up." She explained. "We're just friends…kind of. I promise."

"I know that you are lying." He smirked, returning his hand to his side. "I can feel guilt ripping through your body. You love him and lust for me, you tainted little angel." Gaara snickered, he was really having far too much fun with this.

"But I barely know him!" she exclaimed, becoming confused. How could she love the palace guard? Until today, she had only ever thought of him as extremely annoying and rude.

"Alright." He shrugged, moving away from her and towards the balcony, "If that is the case, I will just go find him…and _kill_ him." He said darkly, letting his fingers take on a more claw like appearance.

"What? Wait, don't!" she shouted, getting off the bed and running over to him, grabbing his arm pleadingly. "Please don't hurt him, he didn't do anything. I won't spend time with him anymore, if that is what you want."

He shifted his body a bit, turning to face her. "Then take off that necklace." He said simply, pointing to the 'offending' necklace.

"Why?" she asked, frowning at him and crossing her arms. "Why should it offend you so much? It's not like I would ever betray you to be with him. I've never gotten a present before, and I want to keep this one." She said defiantly.

Gaara really had to keep himself from smiling. He liked her answer more than he should. "Hm. Then you do have feelings for him." He sighed, feigning boredom. "Well. You must be punished for your tardiness, so tonight, I will not be bedding you as I have. But…" he paused, needing to calm himself from the overwhelming wave of sorrow that washed over him. "I am going to give you a hint as to who I am."

She looked him up and down, curiosity evident in her emerald orbs. "What is it?"

He reached into his cloak and pulled out large, red scale that was about half the size as his hand. He offered it to her and she took it, scanning it tediously. "I don't get it." She frowned.

Gaara simply laughed. "That's not all of the clue. Think about the color." He thought for a moment and then reached into his cloak once more. "And…since you said you had never received a gift, I wish to give you one as well, to prove my…um…you know…" he trailed off, unable to say the strong confession. He would not tell her of his love until she discovered his human form. He pulled out a sheathed knife that had a beautifully crafted hilt made of solid gold. It looked very familiar to her, and when she pulled the dagger from its containment her eyes widened at the glowing blue blade.

"Th-this is-"

"Yes." He interrupted her. "The Sword of Tears." She was completely speechless, almost trembling. "Though…not sure why it's called a sword. It's more like a short sword or a long knife."

Sakura smiled at this. "Well, the name, the Sword of Tears sounds more impressive than the Short Sword or Long Knife of Tears, don't you think?" she asked, looking up at him.

He simply huffed, "Yes well…" he looked off then, "That, what you hold on your hands, is _the_ only weapon on the earth and below that can kill me. And only in my human form." He specified.

She nodded, sheathing the sword and bringing it to her chest. "Thank you, it means a lot that you trust me with this." She said.

Gaara remained silent, but lifted his hand, gripping her chin. He leaned down, pressing his lips against her cheek. Before anymore could be done, he pulled away and walked off onto the balcony. "Goodnight Sakura. Oh, and here's another clue. When you find me, you will love me." He said, stepping up onto the ledge and falling back.

Sakura ran forward, looking over the edge, her eyes searching the darkness. Suddenly a huge, dark mass shot up and flew off into the dark starry sky. She watched him fly away, and let out a sigh as she walked back into her room.

She examined the blade once more, and then hid it underneath her bed, along with her sword. Once that was taken care of she changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed, running over everything that had happened to her that day. It saddened her somewhat that she couldn't continue to hang out with Gaara and get to know him more, but she would respect her mate's wishes. There was just no way she could love him though, care for him, _maybe_, but never love. It was impossible.

Shaking her head at those thoughts, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, feeling the loss of Araag's touch.


	7. Deception

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Seven_

-Deception-

Sakura held in a sigh and shifted in her chair. They were at another war meeting. And when she said they, she meant all of the generals, the king, both princes, and all of the fake gods. Some boy had been killed in the fight the other day, and so it was only obvious that the Greeks would retaliate soon. At the moment, Prince Hector was expressing his concerns on the matter, and like always, Priam wasn't listening.

"Don't worry my son, with so many Gods on our side, especially Hades, we are sure to win." The king said.

At this Sasuke sat up, actually becoming interested in the conversation. "Hold on King. I never said I was on your side, so do not presume such." He said with a disapproving look.

"But, my Lord, if you are not on our side, then why are you here?" one of the generals asked.

"Simple." The Uchiha said. "For the virgins you send me every night. On top of that, death is eminent, and, as the Lord of the Underworld, I want to be present for this."

Gaara nodded. Sitting silently beside the dark haired 'god'. Priam seemed slightly angered by this. "So you have been using my hospitality, bedding our virgins, for nothing?" he asked.

"Precisely." Sasuke said, looking at his nails in extreme boredom.

As the King opened his mouth to say something more, Sakura interrupted. "Your Highness, the fact of the matter is, Prince Hector will have to go out and face Achilles. There is no avoiding it. What you need to focus on now is battle plans for when the fight is finished."

"I'm sure my father is well aware of what needs to be done, Athena, so your obvious advice is unnecessary." Paris criticized, causing her mouth to drop open at his rudeness.

Gaara's glare shifted to the young prince and the blonde beside him. "Your arrogance annoys the great Lord Hades. Before the end of this week…Troy will be engulfed in flames." He said very seriously.

Sasuke looked over at his friend in slight curiosity, but didn't say anything against his words. He really didn't care all that much about the lives that would be lost. In all honesty, he was tired of this city and its people, and they were running out of attractive virgins for him to bed.

Sakura also looked at the redhead, her brow raised in a silent question. It had been two days since he had made the pearl necklace for her, and she had continued to wear it, only taking it off when Araag came to see her at night, since she did not wish to upset him. But ever since then she had made it a point to avoid Gaara, and if she had to be near him, to only do so when others were around, so that their contact was not questionable.

Priam waved off the threat. "We shall be fine. With the other three Gods here, and my son Hector to fight, not to mention our impenetrable walls, Troy will outlast the Greeks." He said. Sakura rolled her eyes but decided to remain silent.

"I wouldn't put too much faith in your walls foolish king. All good things much come to an end." The redhead said, standing. "If you'll excuse me, I have things to attend to." And with that he left. Sasuke rose as well, not even excusing himself as he followed after his friend.

"Are you going to the beach?" he asked once they were alone in the hall.

"Yes." Gaara nodded, keeping his eyes forward. "I want calamity, so I will aid the Greeks in their taking of Troy and then…I will kill them all…" he smirked, cracking his knuckles.

Sasuke smirked darkly. "Fine by me. This city is getting on my nerves." He gave his friend a contemplative look. "What about Sakura? You'll have to get her out of the city before anything happens." He said.

He nodded, thinking a bit on the matter. "Will you make sure she escapes? I'll be pretty busy, but you might have to force her. I don't really care about the other two. They can die for all I care."

"I will do my best." Sasuke said. "Well, I'll leave you to do your thing, unless you want me to go with you. Otherwise I think I'm going to go screw with Paris a bit. That whelp annoys me."

"Go right ahead." Gaara said with a small, amused grin. Sasuke nodded and waved him off, turning off into another hallway. Gaara just focused ahead and out of the palace, taking his time descending down the streets of Troy. It was a massive city, and he honestly could not wait to destroy it. He glanced around at the people, who all seemed so ignorant of the terror that awaited them outside the walls.

That was what he hated most, arrogance. Only few had the right to be arrogant, and it was because they had earned it. Even he, the last dragon, who was almost completely indestructible, did not think himself untouchable. That was why he had gone after the only weapon that could kill him and taken it for himself, so he would always know where it was. He sighed, glancing up at the large gates of Troy. It would be too suspicious if he were to just waltz out and across the field, so he turned and took the side route.

Finally, he was outside the walls, the same way he had gotten out when he had spent that evening with Sakura. When was she ever going to realize that he was the dragon? He'd even given her his scale, which was the same shade of crimson red as his hair. Her days were becoming numbered as well, but in all truth, if she didn't find out, he didn't want to leave her for a month. Now that he had her, he wanted to keep her forever. Gaara stopped in his advance when he reached a drop in the land, staring down at the enormous Greek army.

He dropped down and landed gracefully on his feet, being met with nearly ten spear heads. "Halt! Who are you? A Trojan?"

"I can assure you, that I am not a Trojan." Gaara smirked, not intimidated at all by the men. "Now take me to your leader. What's his name? Agamemnon?" They all looked confused, lowering their spears for just a moment. They gave him a once over and noticed he was in fact not armed.

"Fine." One said, retreating slightly. "Follow me." He ordered, making the redhead roll his eyes. They headed through the camp, most of the men glancing at the new comer to see what was going on. They came to a large ship that was beached. There was a massive tent over the front end, making up the central camp.

They walked up a ramp and into the warm area that was filled with an aroma Gaara couldn't quite place. He stopped in front of a large man, who was lounging in a throne-like chair. He had long, dark hair that was curled back and held with a golden clip. "Who are you?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine.

Gaara just smirked, his blood beginning to heat. "Great king of Greece…I am Araag, and I am the last dragon."

* * *

Sakura sat reclined on her sofa in her room, reading a book by the fire. It had gotten dark a while ago, and for some reason, Araag had no arrived yet. But she wasn't concerned, for she knew he would come to her. He had promised.

She was excited for his visit, because she wanted to make love to him. Really badly. The thought made her blush. She felt so dirty when she had thoughts like that, but it couldn't be helped. He had tainted her, just as he had said. Though, despite her virginity being gone, she was still very shy and innocent about such things, and suspected she would be like that for a while. After all, it was difficult to erase hundreds of years of naivety.

Since the night of her nightmare, she hadn't had another one. Instead, her dreams were filled with the handsome redheaded guard, who had been there to make her feel better, when Araag had just left her to her worry and fear. She didn't resent the dragon though, as such emotions were hard to manifest in a pure being such as she.

The door to her room opened and closed almost silently, and Sakura looked up in curiosity. She knew it wasn't Araag, for he only came to her by the balcony, and so assumed it was either Naruto or Hinata. Confusion marred her brow, however, when a soldier walked through the doorway. "Hm, I had thought to find you in bed already, but I suppose this will do." His deep voice said.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" she asked, closing her book and sitting up in order to look at him better.

The man took off his helmet, revealing dark, wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He was handsome, she supposed, but he didn't really fancy her. "I am not surprised that you do not remember me, my Lady. After all, a Goddess has much more important things to think about. But my name is Aeromus, King Priam's best warrior, now that Prince Hector is dead." The man declared with a bow.

Recognition pricked the back of Sakura's mind, and she realized that she had been introduced to him upon arriving, when the king had been showing off all of his warriors. He was always present at the war meetings, showing that he was valued by the king, but he never said a word, and so Sakura never paid any attention to him. "Why are you here? Does King Priam need me?" she asked, rising from her seat.

"No, he does not." Aeromus shook his head. "But I do."

"What?" she asked in confusion.

The soldier kneeled before her, placing his helmet on the ground. "Lady Athena, I realize that it is the Gods who choose their bed partners, but I would be most honored if you would choose me. Think of the son we could have. He would be one of the greatest demigods in all of Greece, and his name would go down in history."

Sakura stiffened at his words. "I am sorry, but I share my bed with no man." She told him, her voice hardening somewhat.

"That is a lie." Aeromus said with a glare, standing. "I come by your room every night and hear your screams. I know someone comes to see you. And yet, he is not here now." He looked around the room dramatically in order to emphasize his point. "But I am. I can please you much better than your mysterious lover could ever dream of." He stepped towards her, causing her to take a step back.

"No, that is not necessary. Please leave." She said, growing nervous.

In moves quite swift for a human, he was before her, holding her arms harshly. "Let me prove it to you then." And suddenly his lips were on hers in a demanding kiss.

Her alarm rising, Sakura struggled from his grasp, and in an attempt to get away, she kneed him between his legs, causing him to release her and double over at the pain. Surprised that her tactic had actually worked, she turned and made for her bed, where her sword lay hidden underneath. If she could get to it, she would be able to defend herself.

The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the stone floor, her head bouncing off of the rock and disorienting her. She was roughly turned over, and came face to face with an angry Trojan. "You bitch." He cursed, glaring at her angrily.

"Get off of me!" Sakura shouted, beginning to struggle and squirm beneath his heavy weight. He slapped her across the face, the impact leaving a harsh red mark on her previously white cheek.

"I will teach you to respect your man, Goddess or no Goddess." He said, ripping away part of the top of her tunic, exposing one of her shoulders and the top of her breast. As his head dipped towards her once more, Sakura's eyes widened, and for the first time since arriving on earth, she felt complete and utter fear.

* * *

Gaara walked back towards Troy, taking his time in the field. His meeting with the Greeks had gone extremely well, and everything was already prepared. The plan would work beautifully as long as nothing unexpected happened. He thought about Sakura and how she was waiting for him to come and make love to her, as he did almost every night. He smiled, his need for her growing, but he would make her wait a bit longer.

He froze, stopping dead in his tracks as cold fear shot through him, which he knew was not his, because he did not experience fear, at least not like this. He delved deeper into the feeling and then went wide eyed. "Oh my God. Sakura!" he yelled, running forward, his features distorting and growing into that of a dragon. He shot up, shooting through the air with an immense speed, climbing up towards the castle.

He needed to be with his mate now! Something was terribly wrong. He dove down once he had reached the correct altitude and before landing on her balcony, shifted back into his human form. He landed on the balcony and was inside the room in a heartbeat.

Sakura was pinned to the cold floor, tears streaming down her cheeks from her closed eyes. This disgusting man was seconds from violating his beloved angel. But just as Sakura felt the invasive tip pressed against her entrance it was gone. Gaara slammed the soldier into the ground, breaking up the marble with his raging fury. His claws dug into the man's neck, making him gasp and scream out in agony. He dragged him towards the balcony and hoisted him up, digging his sharpened nails further into his throat.

"You dare touch what is mine." He seethed, his eyes twisting into the menacing beast's. "You will die." He told the stricken man, who was pale from the shock. Gaara ripped out his jugular without any hesitation and shoved him off the edge, letting him fall hundreds of feet down to the streets.

He glared down until he could no longer see the body and then hurried into the room, helping Sakura, who was already attempting to get up. "Sakura! Are you ok?" he picked her up bridal style and set her down on the bed, stroking her face in a calming manner.

Sakura nodded at her savior, and then took in her appearance. Her tunic was ruined, the top having been ripped and falling a bit, nearly exposing her left breast. There was a huge rip up the side of it, the tear stopping at her hip, leaving her entire right leg exposed as well. Her cheek was still red from the blow she had received, and there were red spots all across her neck and revealed chest where the other guard had kissed and bitten her. She wasn't too worried about them though, since they would heal and disappear before the next day, but they were still embarrassing. She grabbed the top of her clothing and held it up in a vain attempt at modesty. "Thank you." She said softly, not meeting his gaze.

Gaara just watched her, almost pained by what he was feeling from her. "Do you want me to leave?" he frowned.

She nodded once more. "Please. I wish to wash him from me, and I want to be alone." She said in a pained whisper. He almost protested, but nodded and moved away from her, knowing she would only accept him right now in her mate's form.

"Please don't hesitate to call for anything should you need it." He said, leaving quickly to go bathe and then find his cloak. He needed to be with her and she needed him.

Sakura rose from her spot on the bed and mechanically made her way to her bath tub. Not caring that the water wasn't heated, she ripped off her ruined dress and got in. Grabbing a cloth and soap, she vigorously began to scrub her body, taking out her anger on herself. When she was finished, she stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom and looked at herself. Seeing the red marks that were given to her by someone other than her mate, she finally broke down and began to cry, naked, on her bathroom floor.

Hearing the downpour begin outside, she sniffed and donned a black nightgown. Blowing out all the candles in her room, so that the only light left was what little she received from her dying fire and the moon, she climbed into her bed, seating herself in the middle. Able to stop her tears momentarily and wanting some form of comfort, she held one of her pillows to her, hugging it fiercely. Perhaps telling Gaara to leave hadn't been the best idea, because in that moment, she really did feel alone.

"My beloved." She heard, and glanced over at the cloaked figure on the balcony. He walked over towards the bed, stopping at the edge and looking down at her.

She sniffed and looked up at him with wet eyes. "Y-you have no right to call me that." She said as her bottom lip trembled. "You lied to me. I trusted you, I believed you, but you lied!" she accused, stopping her words as she began to cry once more, causing the rain outside to increase.

Gaara retracted his hand and frowned, sadness filling his mind. But this time it wasn't just hers. "What are you talking about? How did I lie to you?"

"You said you would always be there to protect me, that you would keep me from harm." She tried to wipe away her tears, but they just continued to flow as her hurt grew. "But when I needed you, you weren't there for me." She said sadly, bringing her pillow closer to her.

"I didn't lie. I was there for you." He argued, trying not to get too angry. Didn't she realize yet? He had come the moment he felt her need.

She shook her head and looked away from him. She knew what had happened, not him. Gaara had saved her, while he was off doing god knows what. Looking away from him, she tried to internalize her sadness, wanting the rain to stop so that Naruto and Hinata wouldn't wake up and see it. Her shoulders shook with her silent sobs, and she wiped her cheeks once more. "If you were there for me, then why do I have these?" she asked, moving her pillow and showing him the red marks on her torso. "If you were there for me, then why was I almost raped?" she asked, surprisingly keeping her voice calm.

He grimaced at the sight, even though he had already seen them. "Note the _almost_ in that sentence. Sakura this isn't Heaven, this is Earth, and terrible things happen here. I'm not an angel, which is something you seem to forget every now and then. I will not shower you with love and adoration and be right by your side every second of your life. I'm a dragon, and I have certain needs I have to meet so that I don't snap and destroy the whole world. I care for you deeply, and the second I felt your fear I came." Gaara snapped with a growl, a deep hidden rumble coming from him as if he were in his dragon form now.

Realizing that he had a point, Sakura couldn't help but feel guilty. She rose onto her knees and made her way over to the edge of the bed so that she was before him. Somewhat hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug and laid her head on her chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "It's just that…I was so scared. I thought that if he touched me like that…that you wouldn't want me anymore." Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, though she refused to let them fall.

"Hence why nothing happened to you." He pointed out, still irritated with her. But he knew she would not take well to his harshness, so he placed his own arms around her in a tight embrace. Sakura snuggled into his warmth, feeling a blanket of security and tranquility wash over her. It seemed as though this was all she needed in order to feel better, was to be held by her mate.

She let out a sigh. "It is hard for me to remember sometimes that things here are different than in Heaven, but I promise I will do better so that nothing like this happens again. I do not wish to worry you so." She said.

"Good." He nodded before pulling away, but taking her hands in his. "So what is it you wish?"

"For what?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes, not fully understanding his question.

He sighed, trying not to seem agitated. "What do you want?"

"Oh." She looked away from him then, seeming to be deep in thought. "Would you…would you stay with me tonight and just hold me until I fall asleep?" she asked, looking back up at him. "I don't want you to go, but I'm really tired, and I would rather be well rested so that I am sure I can pleasure you as well." And it was true, she had cried more this night than ever before, and was quickly learning that crying took a lot of energy, as did fighting someone stronger than you and being scared beyond reason.

"Alright." He said, making sure neither his voice nor his aura portrayed his disappointment, but he could be sympathetic towards her, somewhat.

She smiled at him, glad for his answer, and moved back so that he could have room next to her in the bed. He dug around in his cloak and pulled out a familiar blindfold. "It's not too comfortable sleeping in a cloak." He sighed, "And you know I will not allow you to see my face until you find me."

She nodded and took it from him, tying it around her head as though it were second nature to her. She couldn't wait until she figured out who he was, because then she would be able to make love to him without the blindfold, which she knew was something that he wanted as well. She reached out and pulled back her covers, getting situated before patting the space next to her invitingly. He just laughed and pulled off the cloak, tossing it aside as he crawled into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her slim waist and pressing her back to his chest.

"Goodnight…Arukas." He whispered into her ear, a small smirk forming on his face.

She placed her hands over his and sighed in contentment. "Goodnight Araag. I promise I will make it up to you tomorrow night." She said a bit sleepily, wriggling against him a bit so that he knew what she meant.

"I'm sure you will." He mumbled back, already feeling himself drift off.

Sakura let out a yawn. "Thank you, for being here for me." She said softly before letting the darkness claim her and falling into an exhausted sleep, the happiness she was feeling radiating off of her even in her unconscious state.


	8. Insight

**Cataclysm **

_Chapter Eight_

-Insight-

Gaara and Sasuke lounged, looking bored, in the throne room. The ebony haired 'god' had taken the seat of Priam, laying reclined with his legs over one arm and his head over the other. Gaara was sitting in Hector's, twirling the deceased prince's crown. "So what do you want to do today?"

"I dunno." Sasuke shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." The redhead sighed. "Nothing to do until the Greeks attack. Oh! I know. We can figure out people's names backwards.

Sasuke sat up and arched a brown, seeming slightly interested. "That dragon name thing?"

He nodded and thought for a moment. "For Priam it would be…Mairp."

"Mairp. How lame." the darker man laughed. "And for Paris, it would be…Sirap."

They broke out into laughter, holding their sides. "Yours would be Ekusas."

"Ekusas?" Sasuke pondered, rubbing his chin. "I kinda like it." He stood on the throne then, drawing his sword and thrusting it in the air. "All hail Ekusas!"

Sakura walked by the doorway to the large room then, her nose stuck in a book. She had glanced up at the commotion she had heard, and raised a brow. Knowing she would regret it, she walked into the room. "And, what exactly, are you two up to?" she asked, looking at them.

"We're thinking of what other people's names are backwards." Gaara said simply.

"Yeah," Sasuke sighed, sheathing his sword. "Like mine is Ekusas, and yours would be…" he paused slightly. "Arukas."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard." She said, turning from the room and leaving it, focusing her attention back on the book in her hands. Lately she'd been researching some old folk lore that the Trojans had on dragons, trying to get a different hold on the situation so that she could figure out who Araag really was. She only had three days left after all.

Once she disappeared from the two demon's sight, Sasuke looked at his friend. "You know, I'd have thought she'd figured it out by now. Do you think she's distracted by something? Because I thought she was kinda smart."

"I did too." Gaara leaned back, staring at the archway. "That should have been obvious to her. I've called her that many times. Oh well," he shrugged, getting up then. "We should get ready, tonight is the night the Greeks attack."

"True. And don't worry, I'll help to make sure that Sakura is safe and out of the city for the whole thing." He said, hopping down from the throne. "Which is something you'd better appreciate by the way. You know how helping people makes me uncomfortable." The dark haired man grimaced slightly.

"I know, I know." He laughed, glancing back at his friend. "I promise, I'll owe you one big."

"Damn straight." Sasuke nodded and then stretched. "Well, I'm off to horde some treasure before the Greeks get here and take all the good stuff." He said with a wave, exiting the room.

"See ya," he waved off, heading towards his own room to ready himself.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she settled herself on the couch in her room, flipping through the book some more. She wasn't entirely sure why she was doing this, it was completely useless. Humans didn't know the first thing about dragons, and what she knew she only did because she was mated to one.

A small smile came to her face then as she thought of Araag. Last night when he had simply held her, she'd slept better than she had in ages, knowing that she was safe from any harm that would come to her. And when she had awoken this morning, not only was he gone, but so was the blindfold.

The smile fell from her face only to be replaced with a frown. Although she did care about the dragon, she had discovered that he was right about her feelings for the redheaded soldier. She did love him. She wasn't entirely sure how, perhaps she had started to like him before they had teamed up to find the dragon, and then it grew when she spent that fun day at the beach with him. What she did know of love was that it always happened at the most unexpected of times, and with the two most unexpected of people.

And so, because of this, part of her felt that if Araag did leave her for that month like he had promised, she could still see Gaara. Not in anything romantic and such, but at least then she wouldn't grow lonely.

"Names backwards." She scoffed to herself as she remembered what he and Sasuke had been doing earlier. It just sounded so ridiculous to her. Although, when she thought about it, it did sound kind of like something fun to do. Curious, she took out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write people's names forwards, and then backwards. Naruto's name backwards was Oturan, and Hinata's was Atanih. That made Sakura smile to herself. They actually sounded kind of cool. And Sasuke's was Ekusas, hers was Arukas, and Gaara's was Araag.

She froze in her task and dropped her pen, pulling the sheet of paper closer to her face for closer inspection. Of course! It all made sense now. He had called her by her name backwards as a hint, and she had been too focused on other things in order to understand what he had truly meant. Her eyes widened suddenly and she dropped the paper with a gasp, as if she had just been burned. Gaara was Araag. Which meant that Gaara was the dragon.

"Oh my God." She muttered, Gaara was the one she had been sleeping with!

She stood abruptly and began to pace as everything worked itself out in her mind. So when he and Sasuke, whom she was pretty sure was a demon, since he was hanging around the last dragon, not to mention his little eye trick, had told her that they would help her look for the dragon, they had been playing her the entire time. And Gaara had been the one to steal away her innocence and light, and had been the same man who'd come back every night since then.

Stopping in her tracks, Sakura grew slightly angry. How could he make her feel so guilty for being late and with another man, when it had been him all along? On top of that, when she had almost been raped the night before, why hadn't he just put her out of her misery and told her the truth? Did this just mean that the entire thing was a joke to him? Just another way to pass the time and amuse himself?

She began to feel a mixture of pain and hurt then. He had watched her fall in love with his persona as the guard, had welcomed it even, and yet when he was the dragon he was cruel and angry at her for her actions. Did this mean that he didn't truly care about her, meaning that her nightmare could still one day come true?

Suddenly she felt like crying, but refused to even consider it. She didn't feel like answering anyone's questions should it begin raining, especially not Gaara's. How could he do that to her? Play her emotions as if they were a harp. She was nothing to him, just a toy.

That line of thought stopped when she remembered that day she had spent with him on the beach. He had known just what she needed in order to feel better and forget her nightmare, had even been genuinely concerned for her feelings, and done his best to comfort her without crossing any boundaries to give himself away. On top of that, he had never lied to her about what he knew about the dragon. Whenever he said it was right in front of her, he was right. The only time he had told her anything false was when she had gone down to the beach to search once more with him and Sasuke, but that was before they were mates, and so he had every right to play with her.

Then, when she had been attacked by Aeromus, he really had been there to save her. But she had been too scared and panicked to fully comprehend what he had done as Gaara, and so had not realized it then. So, in reality, he hadn't broken his promise to her. He really had been there to save her from harm and protect her. Meaning that the only thing he had actually lied to her about was who he was. But it was only because he wanted her to find him, the way he had found her. And he had been right, if she'd known he was the redheaded guard from the beginning she would have tried to kill him, because at that point in time she held nothing but contempt for the both of them.

He was right about another thing as well. Now that she knew who he was, she loved him, and she was happy. She got to keep the both of them, because in reality they were one man, or actually, one dragon. Now that she knew who he was, she needed to tell him as soon as possible. Happiness welled up inside her at the knowledge that she had found out before her week was up, meaning that she wouldn't have to be without him for a month.

Sakura looked down at her appearance and frowned. She wanted to look really nice when she confronted him, because she knew it would be a moment in time that would be ingrained in both of their memories forever. Those thoughts in mind, she headed to her bathroom in order to bathe and change into her nicest white tunic and don some of her jewelry. She would show Gaara that he hadn't chosen wrong in a mate, because when an angel mated, it was for life.

* * *

When Sakura emerged from her bedchambers, it was with a sense of determination. She had made sure that she looked absolutely flawless, which wasn't too difficult, seeing as how she was an angel and all. The tunic she wore was white and flowed loosely down to her feet. A golden sash ties around her waist, and she had on her favorite pair of gold sandals. The top of the tunic dipped low on her chest, exposing a lot of flesh while still covering her breasts completely. She had on her gold arm band and bracelet, and had curled her hair into ringlets, clipping back her bangs on each side so that they were out of her face.

Not wanting to leave the Sword of Tears on its own in her room, she had secured it to her waist, along with her own heavenly sword. She walked down the halls of the palace, surprised to find it mostly empty. It was then that a commotion from outside made itself heard, and out of curiosity, Sakura walked out onto one of the many balconies of the palace to get a look. And what she saw made her eyes widen.

There, in the center of the city, was a large wooden horse. All of the townspeople were gathered around it, along with Priam and Paris. From what she could gather based on the faces she could make out down below, it seemed that the horse must have arrived some time during the night, and so nobody knew how it had gotten there. Certainly none of the Trojans had made it, it was too big to have been kept a secret for this long, and word of such a thing would have made it to the palace long before now, as nothing was kept hidden from the king.

Feeling very doubtful of the horse, she looked around to try and take in everyone else's reactions. It was then that her gaze caught on the forms of Gaara and Sasuke, who were standing on a balcony a ways from her. What surprised her the most was the fact that neither seemed too concerned with it, as the looks on their faces were ones of anticipation and excitement. And, knowing her mate as she did, that didn't mean anything good.

She felt her blood freeze when Gaara's gaze shifted to hers, keeping her eyes locked with his. He simply smirked, giving her a sly smile before heading back into the palace. Sasuke followed after him, a smirk plastered on his own face. Suddenly his words from before echoed through her head. _'Before the end of this week…Troy will be engulfed in flames.'_ Her brow furrowed as she thought about what this could mean. Surely only Gaara would know that that is the outcome of the battle, if he himself was going to burn down the city, since he's the dragon, and the only being capable of guaranteeing that that is what was going to happen.

Wanting to be prepared for anything that could happen, she turned and walked back into the palace, off to locate Naruto and Hinata. She knew she still needed to confront the redhead face to face about being his mate, but there were more important things that needed to be taken care of first.

* * *

Gaara stared out at the darkened sea. It was late in the night and nearly everyone had gone to sleep. Now was the time, the Greeks should be climbing from their hiding place in the giant wooden horse. The plan was simple, they would attack from the inside and he was to burn down the gates so the others could charge in. It was a flawless plan, since he had been the one to devise it, and he had only had one condition. The Greeks were not to harm the pink haired woman in the palace if they were to come across her.

He turned back, looking at the massive city and smirked. It was time to bring this metropolis to its knees. He felt his muscles tighten and his whole body begin to shift and change until he was the massive red beast. He took off into the sky, gliding around silently, until his claws gripped the wall. He moved towards the gate, lowering his head and inhaling.

There was a huge inferno that blasted straight through the thick wood. When the task was finished, he gripped onto the stone and ripped it off, creating a large gap as well as the newly opened archway. He took off into the sky, letting out another burst of fire, signaling the army that was waiting outside. Then he headed into the city, beginning his rampage.

Inside her room in the palace, Sakura looked to her balcony when she heard a loud noise. She paused in the task of sharpening her sword and walked outside, looking around the city in order to see what was going on. Her gaze shot to the large gates of the city, which were now nonexistent, since they had been ripped off. When she saw the Greek soldiers begin to pour into the city, she went wide eyed and rushed back inside, grabbing her sword after tying its scabbard onto her waist.

She ran into the hallway and went over to Naruto's room, sheathing her weapon before banging on his door. "Naruto!" she yelled, no longer caring if anyone heard his real name. After all, she had already decided to stay with Gaara and send her two companions back to heaven whenever she got the chance, and so it didn't matter.

The blonde opened his door a moment later, looking ready for battle. "What is it Sakura?" he asked, looking around.

"The Greeks have invaded the city. I need you to get Hinata and try to evacuate everyone in the palace. Save as many people as you can. Do not wait for me, I will be fine." She ordered.

He nodded. "On it." Before heading off to the other woman's room and grabbing her. Realizing that she had forgotten the Sword of Tears, Sakura ran back into her room and fastened it to her waist, next to her own sword. Seeing the pearl necklace that the redhead had given her laying on her bedside table, she picked it up and put it on, not wanting to risk it being stolen while the city was being ravished. There was a knock on her door then, and when she opened it, Sasuke was standing there.

"We need to leave the palace and get out of the city." The ebony haired man said before she could ask him what he wanted.

So Gaara didn't want her to get hurt, hm? Well, she understood his line of thinking, but she wanted to help as much as she could. She could already hear the screams of some of the women and children outside, and it tore at her heart. So, for the first time in her life, she decided to lie. "Okay, I just need to grab a few things. Will you wait here?" she asked, making sure to look as innocent as she possibly could.

The demon just sighed in boredom. "Hurry, we don't have much time." He said.

She just nodded and shut her door in his face. She pressed her back against it and looked around her room, trying to come up with a plan. Her eyes landed on her balcony, and she smirked to herself. She ran at full speed towards the edge, her wings appearing just as she dove off. Catching her in her fall, she glided to the ground and then hid them once more before running off to help.

Still standing outside her room, Sasuke began to tap his foot impatiently. It shouldn't take her this long to grab 'a few things'. She was an angel for crying out loud, and so had no ties to the earth. Unless she was just like every other woman, wanting to grab unnecessary things.

Not wanting to have to cart a bunch of crap, he opened the door to her room and walked inside. "Look, we really don't have much time. So if you could-" he stopped short when he realized he was alone. Cursing under his breath, he ran out to the balcony and looked around, but couldn't spot her head of pink anywhere. Letting out another curse, he let his black feathery wings form and took to the sky so that he could inform Gaara that she was missing. His friend was going to kill him for letting her get away, but in all honesty, at least he had tried.

* * *

Sakura coughed as the smoke in the air became thicker. She'd been doing her best to help people escape the city, telling them of a secret passageway in the palace that they could take. Andromache had revealed it to Helen and Paris, and so that was what Sakura had decided to use to help some of the commoners escape.

It was odd though, because she had come across plenty of Greek soldiers, and yet none of them were attacking her the way she thought they would. Had Gaara told them not to? Or did they know that she was pretending to be Athena, and so did not want to upset a goddess by harming her? Either way, she was grateful, because it made her task easier.

"Lady Athena! Lady Athena!" she heard a shrill woman's voice cry out, and turned in the direction. A woman and her two children ran towards her then, looking panicked. "Lady Athena, please help us.' She panted upon reaching the pink haired woman.

Sakura gave her a kind smile. "Yes. Just head to the palace and go down the back corridor, from the throne room. The path is marked, so if you follow it you will come upon a hidden tunnel. Apollo and Artemis are there helping people escape." She told them.

"Thank you my Lady. You are a blessing." The woman said, picking up her two children and running off into the burning town. Sakura sighed and hoped that they made it out alright.

Hearing crying in the distance that could only be a child's, Sakura turned and went wide eyed as pain lanced through her midsection and she came face to face with a Greek soldier. She looked down to see that he had imbedded his sword into her stomach, and looked back up at him in shock. She felt foolish, because she had thought that she didn't need to fear them. She could see the man sneer at her underneath the grime that was coated on his face.

"Don't see why we were told not to kill you. By getting rid of you, my people's victory will be swifter." He said, pulling the weapon from her stomach.

Sakura's hands immediately went to the wound to try and cover it in an attempt to ease the extreme pain she was feeling. The soldier hit her across the face, causing her to fall backwards and to the ground. As she rolled over to try and get up and defend herself, his sword stabbed through her once more and imbedded itself into the dirt beneath her, pinning her to the spot. She gasped at the pain and looked up at the man.

"I am going to leave you here to burn with the city, little Athena. And if you are still around when everything is finished with, then perhaps I can present you to my King and earn a reward for capturing such a prize." He said before walking off and leaving her.

Sakura grasped the hilt of the sword and tried to pull it from her, letting out a pained noise in the process. But from her position, she couldn't use all of her strength, and as the blood began to leave her, she could feel herself growing faint. Panting as her breaths began to get shallow, she looked to the sky that was turning red from the flames of the city. "Gaara…" she called, most of it being sucked away by the screams and the smoke.

* * *

Gaara stood, in his human form, his pale jade searching the vicinity. It was much more difficult to find Sakura when there were so many people screaming and running around. Sasuke had already found him and informed him of his missing mate. He wasn't angry at his friend, since the demon had tried, it was more so at Sakura. Why couldn't she just follow orders? He growled aloud and then froze, going wide eyed. He dropped down from building he was on and ran through the streets, trying to focus on the essence of his lover.

He turned the corner of a large stone house and felt his heart stop. "SAKURA!" he shouted, sprinting towards her, making the Greek soldier go wide eyed. He took hold of the hilt, staring down at her, actual fear reflecting in his eyes. "Sakura! Are you ok? I'm going to pull it out alright?"

Her breathing was coming in shallow gasps, and she met his worried gaze with her dazed one. "Do it quickly please." She said softly, preparing herself for the pain that was to come. His grip tightened, and as much as he didn't want to cause her pain, he ripped the sword out, tossing it aside replacing it with his hand.

"You're going to be alright." He promised, pressing his forehead against hers. He applied pressure to the wound, but finally glanced over, not removing himself from the contact he was in. "You." He seethed, glaring at the soldier who was now paler than the moon.

"L-Lord Araag." He stuttered, moving back.

"You are going to die. ALL OF YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!" he yelled, placing Sakura down gently and jumping at the soldier. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. It was as if it had all happened in slow motion. First, it was Gaara, and then it was if he exploded into the massive red dragon that she had encountered many times before. His jaws snapped around the soldier and ripped him in half.

He jumped up and shot out a conflagration, hitting everything in the surrounding area so that no one would be able to come near. He shot off a few at the palace, making it crumble within itself as finally the whole city was ablaze.

Gaara snaked back down, wrapping protectively around Sakura, but not touching her, since her would was great and would take time to heal. His wings spread and covered them both and he placed his head beside her. '_I'm so sorry my love._'

She looked into his large eyes, her hand over her wound to try and stop the bleeding. "No, I'm sorry. I should have left with Sasuke instead of tricking him. I knew that you had sent him, but I wanted to help." She said. "And now I've broken my promise and made you worry."

'_You will be alright._' He breathed out, warming her with his hot breath. '_You're immortal after all. Don't angels have amazing healing abilities?_'

She nodded. "Yes, the pace with which our wounds heal has to do with how we are feeling. I will be fine in a bit, I can already feel the wound starting to heal on my back." She said. Even though she was in a lot of pain, she was extremely happy to have him so near. "Thank you for saving me again."

'_I will always save you, just as I promised._' He snorted, giving her a grin that seemed more like a sneer since his sharp teeth were being revealed to her. '_Now rest._' He ordered, keeping his wings over them to protect her from the flames and the ash. '_When it is all over, we will emerge._'

She closed her eyes and nodded, feeling that familiar sense of safety envelope her that only her mate's presence could cause. "Gaara…I love you." She said, right as she blacked out.

'_And I love you_.' He replied back, curling more tightly around her and shutting his eyes.


	9. Death

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Nine_

-'Death'-

Sasuke kicked aside the dead body of a girl in disgust. As much as he hated humans, he hated the way they smelled even more. And right now, he was walking around a city that reeked of human death and vomit. The entire city had finally burned to the ground completely, all that being left was charred buildings that had for the most part caved in on themselves. Honestly, could they just die without having some god-awful stench? It would make his life a lot more pleasant.

"Did you find her yet?" Naruto asked, tiptoeing around the bodies, along with Hinata, who seemed incredibly saddened by the sight.

"No. I told you if I found her I would let you know. Idiot." The demon said, glaring over at the blonde. Not only was he being forced out of duty to look for the redhead and his mate, but he had run into the other two fake gods, whose names were apparently Naruto and Hinata. They knew by now that he was a demon, as he had told them, and they also knew that Gaara was the dragon, the quiet woman being able to figure it out and piece it all together. Really, angels were a lot smarter than he gave them credit for. Well, all except the blonde man, he was just a big idiot.

He wasn't worried about them, for he knew nothing could kill his friend save the sword that he had been in possession of since long ago. And without a doubt Gaara had found Sakura, and so she was probably alive and well too.

They all stopped, seeing a cloud of ash begin to pick up. Suddenly, debris flew out in all directions, and Sasuke moved out of the target range quickly. The red dragon, for the first time truly being seen in the morning light, shook the dust from its scales and stretched its wings. Sakura rose from her spot on the ground and twisted experimentally, smiling at the fact that her wounds had healed, the skin once against smooth, as could be seen through the cuts in her clothing.

"See? There she is." Sasuke said, beginning to walk over to them. Naruto smiled brightly and began to run towards them, though it looked like he was hopping, since he was trying not to step in any of the puddles of fluids or on any deceased humans. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke waited until the blonde was next to him and pushed him over, causing him to land in a heap of dead bodies.

"Oh come on!" he whined, a squeamish look coming to his face. Hinata picked up her pace and moved to help him out.

The red dragon seemed to decrease in size until it twisted down into the form they had all come to see as his human. Sasuke stopped in front of him and offered him the cloak he always wore. Grateful for the clothing, he took it and wrapped it around himself and secured it around his neck. "Nice to see you made it out alive my friend." He snickered.

"Please." The dark haired man scoffed. "Like your little light show could kill me." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit in a smile.

"Of course, of course. How foolish of me to think otherwise." The redhead bowed, feigning sincerity.

By now Naruto had lifted himself from all the corpses, no thanks to Hinata, and ran towards his pink haired friend, scooping her up in a hug. "Sakura! I am so happy to see you're alright!" he declared, setting the laughing pink haired woman back down.

"Thank you Naruto." She said with a smile.

His gaze landed on the extra sword at her waist and went wide eyed. "Sakura, is that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"The Sword of Tears." Hinata supplied softly, stopping when she was next to her friends.

He looked back up at her, and then to the redhead. "But, if you had it, then why didn't you kill him?" he asked in confusion.

Sakura blushed and looked slightly ashamed, since now she would have to tell them the truth, and a small part of her feared their reactions. "Because I don't want to." She said softly.

"Because she's my lover and my mate." Gaara said simply, pulling Sakura against him and tilting her chin up with his index finger, planting a passionate kiss on her mouth. "And I was the one who gave it to her. You think I would allow the only weapon that could kill me to just lie out in the world? It's been with me for thousands of years."

"Oh." The blonde said, blinking. Then everything that was said dawned on him. "Wait a minute! Sakura, why didn't you tell me you mated the dragon? I thought we were best friends!" he said, looking hurt.

Sakura let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around Gaara's waist, glad to finally show her affection for her mate to others. "We are friends Naruto, but if I had told you, you would have freaked out and jumped to conclusions."

"And you're stupid." Sasuke pointed out, causing Naruto to glare at him.

"I am not!" he pouted, crossing his arms.

Hinata spoke up then. "So, are you saying that you are happy Sakura?" she asked.

"Yes." The pink haired angel replied, snuggling closer to her redhead. "I wish to stay with him forever. I love him." She declared, smiling up at him.

"Which brings me to my next point." Gaara began, keeping on arm around Sakura's waist. He gripped onto the Sword of Tears and pulled it from Sakura's side, offering it to Sasuke. "You are the only other person I trust with this. I'm tired of havoc…so I want you to spread the word that I am dead."

"Again?" Sasuke sighed.

"Yes again, the first time was for the angels. But this time it's for the underworld. I don't want anyone coming after me…especially since there will be a cross breed between light and darkness for the first time." Gaara said seriously, keeping his gaze focused on his friend.

"You know, if it weren't for all the horrible things we've done together, I would hate being your friend." Sasuke said, taking the sword from Gaara and tying it to his waist. "Rest assured that I will tell the right people so that the knowledge spreads quickly."

Gaara smirked, "Thanks." Then he looked back down at Sakura, wondering what she planned to do. "If they don't think you are dead, they will continue to search for you. It's how you beings are, so persistent." He teased.

She blushed, and then looked over to her two friends. Stepping out of her mates grasp, she allowed her wings to appear. Then she grasped one and brought it forward. Grimacing slightly, she pulled a small handful of the clean white feathers from her right wing, shaking it out slightly and letting them disappear once more. "Take these to Neji." She said, handing the feathers over to Hinata. "And please tell him that I died in the battle against the last dragon." She instructed.

"Y-you want me to lie to my cousin?" Hinata asked, slightly mortified.

Naruto walked forward and put his arm around the ebony haired angel, causing her face to turn a deep crimson. "Oh come on Hinata, it's for a dear friend's happiness. Surely you can lie once in your lifetime." He said. Thinking about his words, Hinata nodded and brought the feathers closer to her.

"I will." She promised.

Sakura smiled. "Great. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Well then," the redhead sighed, offering his hand out to Sakura. When she took it he pulled her off, walking towards the mountains behind Troy. "I guess we'll see you guys eventually." He waved, but it was really only towards Sasuke.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you filled in on the major news in the underworld." The ebony haired man said.

"And we can tell you about what's going on in Heaven every few hundred years or so!" Naruto declared.

"Thanks." Sakura said with a smile before waving goodbye to them. She watched as they returned her wave, except for Sasuke, who just turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. Facing forward with Gaara, she looked up at him inquisitively. "So, where are we going?" she asked him.

"Who knows, the world is continuously changing. I prefer the country, but you never know, we may end up in a big city one of these days." He laughed.

She laughed as well, laying her head against his shoulder. "Well, wherever we go, it needs to have a large bed, with enough light so that I can see at night." She said with a nod. "Since now I don't have to wear that infernal blindfold."

Gaara snickered, kissing the top of her head before detaching himself from her side. "Yes well, we'll see about that!" he ran forward then, leaving her behind.

"Hey! Come back here!" she called as she ran after him, unable to hold in her laughter. Although their relationship hadn't started in the most conventional way, it appeared that the rest of her life was going to be a happy one, and Sakura couldn't wait to start it.


	10. First Sighting

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Ten_

-First Sight-

_**Thousands of years later in what is now the Twenty-first century…**_

Akito sent a harsh glare to the group of punk humans who were eyeing his Ducati, warning them away from his most prized possession. How he hated humans. They were completely useless, and he wasn't entirely sure why they were created in the first place. The only thing he could give them credit for was the fact that their women were useful when he was in the need for one, and that they had the best place to live, in his opinion, earth.

The Underworld wasn't what everyone thought it to be in stories. It was not burning hot, nor was it full of fire. Instead, it was a barren wasteland, where you were pretty much fending for yourself. There wasn't a whole lot to do down there, except fight other types of demons to prove that you were stronger, and so, he had decided to come to earth.

His father had told him before about his journeys to earth, and it seemed like an interesting place to go. He'd been here for a few months now, and had grown to love the city of New York. It was such a horrible, dirty place filled with horrible, dirty people. The amount of sin here made him smile darkly to himself. It was the perfect place for him to wreak havoc and go unnoticed.

He walked into the small Starbucks that had been his main target and wasn't surprised that he had drawn nearly everyone's eye. Why wouldn't he? With his black, fitted jeans, boots, black t-shirt and leather jacket, he was the definition of trouble.

He took off his aviator sunglasses and placed them in a pocket inside his jacket and walked up to the counter to order his coffee of choice. Usually he just got whatever bold coffee they were making that day with nothing added to it. He liked the bitter flavor of the coffee, and refused to ever buy any of those frilly, girly drinks such as a cappuccino.

Deep forest green eyes took in the other occupants in the small space after he ordered his drink and moved to the designated waiting spot. Just then the door to the shop opened, and in walked something that would have made his heart stop if he had one. She was a slip of a woman, with bright pink hair and stunning light jade eyes. By her appearance, he could tell she was a working woman, since she had on some black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a black blazer to match her pants. She appeared to be oblivious of his gaze as she moved towards the end of the line, looking a bit distracted, as if she were lost in thought.

Not really all that interested in her any more, Akito shoved his hands into his pockets and watched the teenager who was currently running behind in drink orders and rushing to try and make everyone happy. He smirked at the boy's misfortune, and wordlessly took his coffee from him when it was set on the counter. The young guy looked up and waved, "Oh Doctor Sabaku! Please, come to the front. I know you must be in a hurry." He called, getting the pink haired woman's attention.

"Oh really? I actually am." She smiled brightly, moving to the front of the line. Some of the people in line just nodded, seeming to know the woman. She stopped by Akito, not even sparing him a second glance.

"Here you go, one black coffee. Just the way you like it." He said, handing her the cup.

"Thanks so much Jake. You know how I love the bitter taste." She said happily, handing him her credit card.

Akito raised a brow at the type of coffee she liked and took a sip of his own simmering drink. It surprised him, because she looked to be the type of woman who preferred those drinks with over three words in the name, non-fat milk, no cream, etcetera, etcetera.

He handed her back her card and she turned around about to head off. "Wait! You forgot your receipt," Jake called after her, making her whirl around, her hand knocking against the man beside her. She yelped and went wide eyed when she lost her grip, making her coffee spill all over his front.

He hissed as the scalding liquid poured down him, ruining his shirt and part of his jeans. In reflex his arms raised slightly, thankfully keeping his jacket from getting ruined as well. He would hate to have to go steal and break in another one, it was just too much work. "Fuck." He muttered, looking at the damage done to him before raising his glare to the pink haired woman.

"Oh my God!" she covered her mouth with her hands. "I am _so_, so sorry!" She hurried over and grabbed some napkins from the counter and stopped herself from acting as she normally would by handling the cleaning herself. So instead she offered them to him, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry." She apologized again, running her hand through her hair nervously.

He snatched them from her and patted at the wet spots. "Hn. At least I'm wearing black." He somewhat joked, if only to make the situation less serious for himself.

She watched him, feeling extremely awkward, since every eye in the coffee shop was on them now. The hand gripping her hair moved down to her burning cheeks as she tried not to blush too badly. "I really am sorry. I'm such a klutz. If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask."

Akito looked at her then, finding the blush on her cheeks to be very endearing. It added to the picture of innocence she created. "It is just spilled coffee." He said, throwing away the now wet napkins. He supposed this would be as good as it got until he could make it back to the suite he and his 'mentors' were sharing to change.

"You're sure?" she asked, lacing her fingers together, staring up at him, her eyes almost piercing through his microscopic soul.

"Unless you want me to spill mine all over you so that we are even, then yes, I'm sure." He smirked. "Though I doubt it, since you look like you have somewhere to be."

"Oh!" she gasped, pulling out her phone and looking at the time. "You're right! Sorry, I have to leave. I've got a big surgery case." She told him, pushing around him quickly and towards the door. "Again, I'm sorry about spilling my coffee on you," she called over her shoulder, leaving the small establishment and getting on her cell phone as soon as she was on the streets. He watched her until she disappeared from his view through the windows.

What an interesting woman. He hoped he would get to see her again, if only to cause that delicious shade of red to rise to her checks. Throwing away his barely touched coffee, since he wanted to change, he left the shop then and walked over to his bike. Putting his sunglasses on, he revved the engine before speeding home, not bothering to wear a helmet, since if the event of an accident happened, he wouldn't die.


	11. Reoccurrence

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Eleven_

-Reoccurrence-

Dark green eyes scanned the inhabitants of the club in boredom. Akito was sitting at a table in the corner, drinking a beer, and looking for the night's lay. There were a few good specimens of women present, but he hadn't found one that he thought would not only satisfy him in the sack, but entertain him as well.

A more upbeat, techno song began to play, and he watched more women move to the dance floor and begin to move to the music. This was the ultimate test. If she could move on the floor, then she could move on a bed, and that was what counted.

Spotting a flash of pink, his gaze zeroed in on a familiar woman, one who had spilt her coffee on him three days ago. She was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a black halter top that exposed part of her midsection, and black flats. Her hips swayed expertly to the music, as if she was born to tease men through dance.

He felt his blood heat at the sight of her, and knew that he needed to have her for himself. She was a curious creature. The picture of innocence a few days earlier, and now the definition of a temptress. Rising from his chair, he straightened his black button down shirt and dusted off his dark jeans. He had rolled the sleeves up to just above his elbows a while ago, since he had gotten hot in the stuffy atmosphere. Walking out onto the floor, he stopped when he was behind her and placed his hands on her hips, moving to the beat with her. "Want to dance?" he asked in her ear, making sure his voice was low and tempting.

The girl blinked, already feeling his front press into her back. She tried to glance back, but couldn't get a good enough look from this angle. Her gaze lowered to his hands that looked firm and steady on her exposed skin. Finally, she smirked, facing forward and moving against him in a sultry fashion. "Sure." She said, her voice almost angelic. "But don't think you're going to get anything out of it."

He smirked at her response, almost relishing in the wave of disappointment that washed through him at her words. Nobody had ever denied him before, and the thought of a challenge made his blood boil in anticipation. After all, the harder you worked, the greater the prize. "I wouldn't dream of it." He said, his grip on her hips tightening a bit now that he had her acquiesce.

"So, what's your name stranger?" she asked, trying to glance back once more when she tried to turn in his grasp. As alluring as his presence was, it was always nice to have a face to the voice.

"Hm, I don't know if you are deserving of such knowledge." He said, and she could feel his smirk against the side of her neck.

She couldn't help but feel insulted from his retort. "Not deserving?" she said darkly, glaring forward and placing her hands over his, letting her nails dig into his skin. "Then you can take your hands off this non-deserving body."

"Now don't let you pretty little feathers get all ruffled, it was just a joke." He said. "My name is Uchiha Akito. And yours?"

She rolled her eyes, still trying to pull away from him. She hated guys that thought they were all that and a bag of chips. "Look, I don't mean to burst your bubble or anything, but I don't affiliate with conceited big shots. And your attempts to try and woo me, or as I assume you want to 'get me in the sack' are futile. I don't go for anyone." She said simply, pulling away from him successfully and pushing through the crowd without bothering to look back.

* * *

Akito slipped on his pants and quickly buttoned up his shirt. As he made his way to the door, he froze when he heard the rustle of sheets behind him.

"Where are you going?" a woman's sleepy voice asked.

He looked over his shoulder at the busty brunette woman he had just bedded. "I'm leaving." He stated.

She looked confused, and slightly hurt. "What? Why?"

"Because," he sneered. "I'm done with you. I don't know why you thought this would become anything more. I will never see you again, and all I wanted was to use your body for my own needs." He said, opening the door to her room and then leaving her apartment, taking the stairs down to where his bike was parked.

He got on and started the engine, and soon he was speeding down the streets to his home. He wasn't sure why, but he was still angry about what had happened only hours ago at the club. How dare she deny him what he wanted and then insult him in such a manner. And to think, at the coffee shop she had been so nice and considerate. What an enigma she was turning out to be.

So, in his quest to get laid, he had found some woman who was obviously in need of a relationship, and he had taken advantage of her vulnerability. And, although he had released some of his tension and anger on the busty woman, he was still upset.

After pulling into the parking garage to the hotel he was staying at, he rode the elevator up to the top, where the presidential suite was located. Sighing as the elevator doors opened, he swiped his card and went inside.

Taking off his jacket, he tossed it onto one of the chairs in the living room, where his two roommates were lounging and watching a movie. One was a redhead with brown eyes, and the other was a man that looked similar to himself. His ebony hair was tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck, and his eyes were onyx instead of green. "Rough night?" one of the men asked, looking over at him.

"Not too bad." He said, sitting in the chair he had draped his jacket over. "Is it…possible for a woman to deny me?" he asked the two, looking confused. The redhead held up the remote and paused the movie, both looking over at him with shock written all over their faces.

"Was she ugly?"

Akito shook his head. "Far from it. You know that woman I told you about that spilled her coffee on me a few days ago?" he waited for both men to nod. "I saw her at the club I went to tonight and decided to dance with her. And when I was being my natural, charming self, she insulted me and walked away. I didn't see her for the rest of the night." He said.

"Odd. Did you insult her?" Itachi asked.

"No, I said she was pretty, and I even told her my name." he replied.

Sasori scratched his head in contemplation. "Is she a witch or a demoness?"

"Not from what I could sense. Although, her aura is a bit odd, I've never seen anything like it."

"Well even if she were an angel, I don't think she would be able to deny you. Those goodie goodies are always getting themselves into trouble with temptations." Sasori said, leaning back in his seat.

Akito shook his head. "There's no way an angel could move the way she did. She was dancing like a siren."

"And she wasn't a demoness?" Itachi asked.

"No. I have never been denied by any demoness, even if she tries to say no."

They all sat in silence then, trying to think up anything that would make sense. "Well she's not an ugly human with a _personality_," Sasori spat out, rolling his eyes. "Those ones usually don't fall under the allure. A witch maybe, but they are so devious they usually sleep with anyone. Not a demoness, they wouldn't be able to resist the demon in you, nor the darkness. I honestly can't think of anything that could resist unless…" He paused and laughed, picking up his beverage. "She was a dragon."

Itachi almost laughed aloud. "Except that dragons are extinct. The last one was killed by an angel, back in ancient times when Troy fell."

"Didn't she die as well?" Akito asked.

"So the story goes. It was so long ago that it's practically a fable." The elder Uchiha said.

A light bulb went off in Sasori's head. "Unless…" he laughed. "You're not her type."

Akito glared at him. "Shut up, I am everybody's type." He rubbed his chin. "I think I'm going to follow her around a bit, try and get to know how she works. Maybe I just need to pretend to be a nice guy."

Itachi laughed. "Is that even possible for you? I mean, you can be worse than Sasuke when it comes to women sometimes."

"The harder you work, the greater the prize." Akito said knowingly.

"Touché nephew. Touché."

"Better watch yourself little Akito. Not all human women are so easy to hit and quit. You need to be careful and keep your guard, no matter what." Sasori warned, pointing at him.

He looked at the redhead. "Why would I need to keep my guard?" he asked.

"She got away from you," he reminded him. "You have no idea what a woman like this is capable of."

He waved it off. "I'm sure I will be fine. After all, I will be the one manipulating the emotions, not her."

"Just be sure that it stays that way." Itachi said. "You don't want to wind up tied down to her or anything."

"Cause' when or if you do, we get free reign on making fun of you." Sasori smirked.

Akito rolled his eyes. "Yeah okay. Whatever." He looked at the clock. "I'm going to go to bed. I'll need my rest for the extensive stalking I'm going to begin tomorrow." He said, rising from his chair and heading down the hall.

"Good luck Akito. Make your daddy proud!" Itachi called, snickering.

"Yeah yeah." He said, disappearing into his room.

Itachi looked at his best friend. "Do you think he'll be able to do it?"

"I don't think the girl's human." He replied simply.

"I don't either. If she has an aura that he's having trouble placing, there's no way its human. They're too simple to have discernable auras." The ebony haired man agreed.

"Well…we'll just have to see how it plays out then, won't we?" Sasori smirked, picking up the remote and resuming their movie.

"Yup. Seems our task of watching Akito has finally gotten interesting."


	12. Stalking

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Twelve_

-Stalking-

Akito sat in the Starbucks sipping his coffee as he waited for his prey to enter. True to her schedule, she walked in just past seven-thirty, going straight to the counter to get her drink.

He had been following her for a week now, wanting to know her routine, and all in all, she was a pretty boring person. After getting her cup of coffee, she took the subway to the local hospital, where she worked until five. Then she took the subway home, which was a penthouse located in the wealthier part of the city. For the rest of the night she would cook dinner and watch TV or movies with her fluffy orange tabby cat that was named Pitter. But, on Friday and Saturday nights she would go to a local club and dance until the early hours of the morning.

Coming up with a plan, he decided to try and talk to her at the hospital. That way he could see how she acted in her work environment and see how people treated her. Once she left the coffee shop, he rose from his seat and threw away his cup, following her out and onto the crowded streets. Today he was wearing some black jeans and a white t-shirt with his aviators on.

When they arrived at the hospital he allowed her to go in first and then waited until he was sure her lunch break was over. Walking into the lobby like he owned the place, he went straight to the counter. Inwardly smirking to himself that the receptionist was a hideous blonde with large glasses, he pasted his most charming smile on his face and put his elbow on the counter. "Hello." He said rather pleasantly.

"What do you want." She snapped, not even looking up from the magazine she happened to be reading.

"I wish to see Dr. Sabaku no Natsumi." He said, slightly confused as to her demeanor. Usually it was the ugly ones who fell the easiest for his charm, since they didn't normally get any attention from the male populace. "Please." He added as a second thought.

She glanced up, giving him a once over. "Why?" she demanded, smacking her gum loudly.

He blinked, having not really thought of a reason. "Because I…want to?" he said, making it sound like a question. Why was she being so rude?

"If you're not dyin', you're not seeing the doctor. She's very busy and doesn't need to be distracted by creeps like you. Got it Paco?" she sneered, returning to her work.

"Paco? My name is _not_ Paco, I'm not even Mexican, and I'm not a creep."

She laughed and gave him a threatening look. "Please, I've seen you outside the hospital…watchin' like a stalker. You're lucky I haven't called the police on your scrawny ass." She huffed.

He glared at her. "Please, I am not scrawny." He crossed his arms.

She lowered her gaze once more, "Yeah…ok." She snorted, rubbing her nose and picking up a clipboard as she stood. "Now back off before I call security." She threatened.

"Fine." He said, turning and walking out of the building. "Bitch." He muttered, going off to wait for Natsumi to get off work where he couldn't be seen from the lobby.

* * *

A few days later he walked in and went straight to the desk. "Leave." The receptionist said without looking up.

"Aw, come on now Roberta." Akito said. "You could be ruining Natsumi's only chance at love."

"How many times are you going to come in here and ask to see one of the busiest surgeons in the city to take time from her needy patients to see some stalker?" she asked, actually sounding curious.

He gave her a serious look. "Until you say yes."

"Aw…well in that case," she smiled, a hope sparking in his gut. "It's never gonna happen." She glared and pointed towards the door. "Get out and you better not come back here unless you are seriously injured."

"Oh Roberta, don't wish something so horrible upon me." He turned away with a smirk, already planning out what he was going to do.

* * *

The next day he came in to the hospital, a series of long and deep cuts on his torso and arms, all visible through his white shirt. This way, when he saw Natsumi, she would have to see his chest, and she would be swept away by his sheer masculinity.

"Roberta, I need to see the doctor." He said, feigning breathlessness. "There was an accident you see, and in trying to help some people I got injured when one of the other cars blew up." He dramatized.

Roberta visibly rolled her eyes, but then finally looked at him. "Oh my God!" she gasped, picking up her pager. "Neila! Page Dr. Sabaku immediately, we have some severe lesions." She gestured for some of the other nurses to come out and help Akito onto one of the portable hospital beds. Smirking to himself, he climbed on, exaggerating the minor pain he felt. It seemed he was finally going to see Natsumi, and he couldn't help the anticipation that welled up inside him.

They rushed him down the halls into one of the emergency rooms. One of the nurses took his vitals and hurried out, assuring him that the doctor would be right in. The door opened and Akito had to stop himself from sitting up in excitement. "So what do we have here?" a clear male voice asked.

The redhead stopped by the bedside, reading the quick notes and glanced down. "Akito?" he asked, looking shocked. It was definitely not a beautiful, pink haired doctor. It was a red haired man with dark jade eyes. A face he had actually come to know as his only human friend.

"Toshiro?" Akito almost yelled, sitting up and wincing slightly from the abrupt movement.

"Lay down." Toshiro ordered, settling him back. "What on earth did you do to yourself Akito? Did you get in a car wreck?"

He sighed, trying not to scowl at his fortune. "I was helping someone from a wreck when their car blew up. I got hurt in the explosion." He recited, abstaining from saying that he had been the one to cause the whole thing.

"Well come on." He snapped his fingers. "Take off the shirt and let's see how bad they are."

Refraining from groaning, he did as he was told. "I can probably just see to the cuts myself you know. I'm sure you have other patients to see. The receptionist told me that you're a pretty busy surgeon, so I don't want to hold you up." He said, hoping that his friend would just let him keep what little dignity he had left.

"Nonsense." He waved off. "Besides my sister said she would take care of the critical care ER today. And you're my friend, I can see you any time." He smiled, pulling on some latex gloves and giving him a commanding look. "Now stay still while I get the hydrogen peroxide." He walked over to the counter and grabbed a few cotton swabs and the chemical, cleaning the wounds so they wouldn't get infected. "You need to be more careful Akito. Behavior like this could get you killed." He said, almost like a parent scolding their child. He helped him up and then wrapped his wounds. "There. All done."

"Yeah, yeah. I was just doing my civic duty." He rolled his eyes and hopped off the examination table. "So tell me, does that receptionist ever take a day off? Go on vacation? She looks kinda cranky, so I think she could use one." He said, praying that this at least would go his way.

"Actually, she just got back a couple weeks ago from two months in Italy." He said happily. "Said it was beautiful and visited a lot of her family."

"Damnit!" he exclaimed, going slightly wide eyed that it had been voiced. "I mean, how great for her. I am so jealous." He said heading to the door. "Well I'll see you around Toshiro. We should go out for drinks some time. I know a great bar where we can pick up women."

Toshiro just gave him a smile and signed off on his medical form. "I'm all for drinks, but you know that I'm engaged now. Remember?" he asked, holding out the paper to him. "And don't worry about the bill, I won't charge you or anything."

"Thanks." He said, taking the paper. "Just call me when you're free." He said, leaving the room and going back to the lobby. He handed Roberta his sheet saying that he was good to go. "Here." He said tersely.

She smirked up at him, "Aw, disappointed? Did I mislead you there Mr. Uchiha?" she sighed, looking satisfied as she took the paper and stamped it with her approval. "Now…as I am sure you are accustomed to by now. Get out." She pointed towards the exit.

"You know, whatever happened to patient care and service? Did you leave it in Italy?" he asked, sneering at her.

"Yup." She replied smugly, leaning back in her chair and shooing him away. "Now go, you little gnat."

He scowled and turned on his heel to leave, going back to his house instead of waiting for Natsumi the way he normally did. He slammed the door and stalked into the living room, the other two occupants turning to the entrance and taking in his appearance.

"Aw, did wittle Kito have a bad day?" Itachi asked, sounding as if he were talking to a two year old.

"Shut up Itachi, I am not in the mood right now." Akito said, pulling his shirt off and beginning to rip the bandages off his wounds that were already beginning to heal.

"So," Sasori snickered. "Have you even talked to her yet?"

He plopped down on the couch and crossed his arms in a pout. "No. This stupid, fat, ugly bitch of a receptionist won't let me go see her at the hospital. I even cut myself like some emo so that I had a legit reason to see her, and who do I get? Her brother." He sighed angrily. "I am so pissed."

"Why don't you just use the brother to get to her?"

"Can't. He's my friend, and it would be too suspicious if I was trying to get with the sister I've never met. Besides, he's super busy now planning his wedding." He grimaced. "Ugh."

Itachi sat forward in his seat. "Well, have you figured out when the receptionist is going to be out of the office?" he asked.

"Yeah, but she just got back from a two month trip to Italy two weeks ago, so she won't be going anywhere any time soon."

Sasori rubbed his chin, contemplating. "Well, you said she deals with the more severe cases of surgery. So do something to your head, they'd have to get her, right?"

"True. But what if that bitch just sends me to some other specialist? And she'd do it too, she knows how bad I want to see Natsumi." Akito said.

"Then make something bad happen to this arrogant cow who dare think she can mess with a demon." The red head pointed out.

Understanding dawned in Akito's eyes and he smirked evilly. "Yes." He said, rubbing his hands together. "And I know just what to do."

* * *

Akito staggered up to the front desk, smiling inwardly to himself when he saw that one of the young nurses was filling in for the missing receptionist. She would be unable to come to work today on account of the fact that he had completely destroyed her car during the night, and had disabled the subway line near her house. Sure, she _could_ call a taxi, if her phones were working.

"Please ma'am, I need to see a doctor." He said when he reached the counter, exaggerating his pain.

She glanced up at him, a light pink blush darkening her cheeks. "Oh…um, yes, what is it that is wrong sir?" she asked, playing nervously with the pencil in her hands as she let her eyes trail along his body.

It took a lot of effort to keep his triumphant smirk from showing. "I have injured my head, and will probably need stitches." He told her, turning his face to the side in order to show her the angry red gash that was bleeding down his temple.

"Oh my goodness!" she stood and ran around the desk, "That looks terrible. Here," she hurried off, bringing back a wheel chair and helping him into it. She personally took him to one of the emergency rooms. "I've already paged Dr. Natsumi." She said, tending to his head a bit before dismissing herself. "It shouldn't be too long." Then she left, shutting the door behind her.

"Finally." He sighed, closing his eyes and laying back slightly in his chair.

It wasn't too much later when the door opened and he heard the small click of heels. He opened his eyes and the pleasant look was wiped right off his face. "Who are you?" he frowned.

"I'm Dr. Duvuuri." She smiled. She was a kind looking woman, chestnut hair and big brown eyes.

"But I was told that Dr. Natsumi would be treating me." He said, the frown still on his face.

"Dr. Natsumi has today off." She informed him, already beginning to examine the wound. "Oh it's not too bad," she said, placing his head back down. "It actually looks like it's already healing."

"Well fancy that." He said, somewhat sarcastically. "Could you just hurry and patch it up? I have somewhere to be."

"Sure. We'll get you all fixed up." She said, treating him quickly and efficiently. Once she was done, she signed off on the release form and handed it to him. "You really need to be more careful Mr. Uchiha." She waved, heading down the hall in the opposite direction he went. He headed straight for the front and handed the stricken girl his paper, walking off.

He stepped outside, pulling off the bandages around his head, since the wounds were almost gone now. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started down the bustling streets. How the hell was he supposed to get her if he was never going to get to see her?

He passed by a couple of shops, the world simply passing him by as he usually allowed it. He stopped when he saw something in his peripherals. He turned a bit and caught the woman who tripped from the steps of the store he was by. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" she gasped out, looking up and meeting his green gaze from over her many bags. "Oh my." She blushed a dark red. "Didn't I accidently spill coffee on you?"

His eyes widened slightly, but he held in his curse. This was so ridiculous! He had tried so hard to see her this entire week, and now, when he wasn't even looking for her, she fell into his grasp. Literally. And now she was being so nice to him, when she'd easily brushed him off at the club. "Why yes, I think you did." He said after a while.

She laughed, the sound almost making him melt. How could something about a person just seem so beautiful in every way? She finally straightened and righted her many bags from her day of shopping. "Sorry about that, I missed the step because I couldn't see." She smiled, and then looked a bit embarrassed. "Oh where are my manners." She shifted her things around and held out her hand. "My name's Dr- I mean, Natsumi." She corrected. "Sorry, force of habit."

"No problem. My name is Akito." He said, shaking her hand and returning her smile with a genuine one of his own. He was just so happy that he now had the chance to talk to her face to face.

She looked a bit confused, as if she were thinking about something. "Uchiha Akito?"

"Yes." He said, adding puzzlement to his gaze. Damn, that meant she remembered him. "I'm sorry, have we met before?" he asked, trying to play innocent.

"Are you stalking me?" she demanded, having the same tone she had when he had been with her at the club. "Because I blew some creep off with the same name and my receptionist keeps telling me some weirdo keeps trying to come in and see me."

He raised a brow at her. "Creep huh?" he asked. "Well, I did meet a girl at a club that blew me off a while back, but I don't know anything about a weirdo. Because I am not weird." He said, crossing his arms. "And twice I actually had a legitimate reason to see you, since I was critically injured." He said with a nod. Best to be honest with her, because if she found out he had lied then things would not go his way, and he would just wind up farther from bedding her than he had been to start with.

"Yes. Creep." She said simply, beginning to walk with the flow. "You don't insult a girl and expect not to get burned." She said over her shoulder. "And how did you find out where I worked anyways?"

He followed her. "I didn't find out where you worked. I didn't know your name, remember? I had simply heard that you were a specialist in surgeries and stitches, and that's what both of my injuries required. And I only see the best doctors. It was only just now that I realized you are the doctor that I had requested."

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes, continuing to walk away from him. "Look I don't know what you're trying to get at but I will call the police if I have to."

"Oh come on." He said, walking faster so that he was next to her. "You have to admit, it's kind of weird that we would meet this way. First in a coffee shop, then a club, and now here, after I went to the hospital a couple of times to be treated by you, not knowing who you were." he gave her one of his most convincing, most charming smiles. "I mean, this kind of thing only happens in movies right? Maybe it means something."

She turned the corner and wasn't surprised when he continued to follow her closely. "Or _maybe_ it means you're a psycho." She said pointedly, huffing in her anger.

"I highly doubt that." He said, speeding up a bit more and walking backwards in order to face her. "Just tell me what it will take for you to go on a date with me. Just one, and then I promise if you don't have fun I'll never bother you again." He said, although it was a lie. He just wouldn't be so obvious about his stalking of her.

"It'd take a lot more than you're willing to do," she smirked, coming to a stop on the street and he recognized the building they were in front of was her own. She turned her back to him and started up the steps to the finely made entrance, where an employee opened the door for her. She glanced back over her shoulder and gave him a once over. "Besides…I don't date bad boys." She waved then, "Tah."

And with that final word she disappeared into the lobby. Akito smirked, turning and heading off to go and make his new plans. She had absolutely _no_ idea whom she had just challenged. No idea at all.


	13. Modified Plan

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Thirteen_

-Modified Plan-

The next day, Akito was up bright and early, standing in front of the hospital at eight o'clock, with his hands clasped behind his back. He was wearing some dark denim jeans and a navy blue dress shirt, with a pair of casual dress shoes, wanting to look a smidge preppy, but still retain his own personality. The woman in the store he had stolen the clothes from had tried to convince him to get a powder pink polo, and he told her he would kill her if she said anything stupid ever again while in his presence. That shut her up quickly.

Natsumi would be arriving any minute now, as she always did, and before the day was done, he was going to get her to agree to get coffee with him at least. Seeing her walking towards him, he straightened, and prepared himself for what would hopefully be one of the greatest performances of his life.

She was wearing a short black skirt and a white button down shirt, with strappy black heels. Her purse was over her shoulder and she held her lab coat over her arm. Finally, she glanced up and slowed her pace to a stop, her light expression wiped right off her face. "Oh god, what do you want now?"

He walked forward, stopping when he was before her. "I want you to go grab coffee with me sometime. It doesn't even have to be a date, just a casual meeting between two people." He said, and then suddenly remembered what he'd been hiding behind his back. He held out a single white lily to her. "Please."

She eyed him suspiciously, pursing her lips, and then glanced down at the flower in his hands. It was really pretty, and at least he wasn't being so cheesy as to get her a bouquet. She took it from him carefully and then lifted it to her nose to smell its sweet fragrance. She smiled slightly and then looked up, meeting his deep gaze. "No." she said, walking past him. "But thanks for the flower. I really love lilies." She said, walking into the hospital.

He frowned, inwardly reminding himself over and over that it was worth it just so he could know the pleasures her body would bring him. Because the greater the challenge, the greater the prize.

* * *

He sat outside the hospital all day, waiting until she got off work. When she walked through the front doors, he was standing right there.

Natsumi stopped, putting her phone in her purse, and frowned at him. "Go away." She said seriously, trying to ignore him as she headed down the sidewalk.

"I just wanted to ask you something, and I didn't want to disrupt your work, so I waited." He said, walking next to her. She stopped, holding in a retort as she turned to face him.

"Fine. What?"

"Is the only reason you won't go anywhere with me because you think I'm a bad boy? Or that I'm psychotic?" he asked. "Because you don't even know me, you know nothing about me in fact. The only reason I even want to take you out is because I want to get to know you. And I think if you just gave me a chance, you would realize that there's a lot more to me than meets the eye."

She arched a delicate brow and for some reason looked extremely dangerous when she approached him. She stopped only when she was inches from him, getting her face in his. "You are a psycho. You follow me around and stalk me, you apparently try and find ways to get into a hospital to try and see me. I don't trust you because you're trying a little _too_ hard just to go on a date with me."

He just stood there, not intimidated by her in the least, since he could easily snap her neck if he wanted to, and she wouldn't even know what hit her. "Maybe I'm just extremely thorough." He said. "Besides, as I said, twice I actually needed to see you. The other times I was trying to meet you so that I could see if you were as knowledgeable and skilled as they say. You shouldn't mess around when using any kind of doctor, and I take my health very seriously." He gave her a speculative look. "I think you're afraid to go out with me."

Natsumi just laughed and rolled her eyes, turning away from him. "You are so full of it."

He followed her. "I'm serious. I think you're afraid, because if you were in a relationship things would be too unpredictable. You like order, as clearly seen by the way you dress and act. I bet you even keep your work schedule virtually the same." He refrained from mentioning that he had gone through all of her files in the hospital when he'd snuck in a while back. "If you were to go on a date with me and actually like me, you may become attached, and right now the only thing you know how to have a relationship with is your job."

She whirled around, getting in his face once more, but this time looking pissed and almost threatening, even to him. "Listen here you insane lurker. I _like_ my job and I like helping people. _That's_ why I spend all my time doing it and if I were so into order, as you proclaim that I am, I wouldn't be in the medical field. Anything could go wrong, _anything_, and I don't appreciate you coming here and being some psycho who doesn't know a damn thing about me! I'm not afraid of anything. I just don't _like_ you." She poked him hard in the chest, forcing him back slightly. "Just because you are extremely good looking and have this otherworldly masculinity about you doesn't mean I'm going to fall for you like a little schoolgirl and a senior. So if that's your plan Mr. big man, then you can go ahead and go try it on someone else!" she snapped, breathing harshly as she tried to reign in her emotions.

Akito almost couldn't control his lust for her in that moment, because no one, especially a woman, had ever stood up to him that way, and it was hot. "Well, you certainly have a way with words." He said, smirking slightly. "I know I don't know you very well, but that's why I want to take you on a date. There's just something about you…it's hard to explain, but I've never felt it with anyone else before." Which wasn't really a lie. He knew there was something different about her, something that set her apart from normal humans, he just didn't know what.

She glared at him, everything about her still on the defensive side, like a bird with ruffled feathers. She looked off and took a deep breath, "If," she began, holding up a finger and pointing at him. "I go on a date with you. You promise to leave me alone afterwards?"

"Yes." He said. "Unless you have such a great time that you want to see me again."

"Yeah, don't count on it." She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Fine. When and where?"

"The coffee shop where we first met, two days from now." He said. He had a pretty good feeling that she was going to want to go out with him again, but just in case, he didn't want to spend a ton of money on her for nothing. And he was getting the impression that she wouldn't be impressed with it so soon in the relationship anyways. "Does that work for you?" he asked, though he knew for a fact it did.

She fished out her phone from her purse and scrolled through her schedule and found the date. "Looks like it, what time?" she asked, looking back up at him with a bored expression.

"How does nine thirty sound?" he knew it was her day off, and that she liked to sleep in and relax on those days, so he figured he'd be generous with her, despite the fact that he always woke up at dawn. Besides, if she got to do her own thing, then she was more likely to be in a better mood.

"That'll work." She punched in the date into her phone so she would remember and then looked back at him. "Now, I don't want to see you until then. Understand? If I see you anywhere near here or my house, I'm not going to come."

He smirked. "That's fine. It's not like I spend all of my time following you around, as you so clearly think." He turned and began to walk away. "See you then." He waved, rounding the corner. When he was sure she wouldn't be able to see him he frowned, trying to think of what he would do until then. For the longest time his days had been spent stalking her, and now he was at a loss. He supposed he could go clubbing, maybe fuck some girl, but it wasn't as entertaining as following Natsumi around. Then he perked up. It had been forever since he'd gone and screwed with the psychiatric people at the mental hospital, and that always proved to be entertaining. Making that his plan of action for the next two days, he turned onto the street where his bike was parked, intent on heading over there as soon as possible.

* * *

Natsumi raked her fingers incessantly through her hair in attempts to flatten out the slight static that was causing parts of it to rise. She growled out, glaring at her reflection and cursing whatever higher power created humidity. She took a clump of her hair and picked up her flat iron, ending the static once and for all.

She smiled victoriously and touched up the rest of her pink hair, making sure it looked perfect. Once that was done, she walked into her massive closet and looked around for something to wear. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation, why did she even care what she looked like? It wasn't like she was trying to impress this creeper. She groaned, crossing her arms stubbornly. Damn her conceit. With another deep breath, she looked around her closet once more and decided it would be best to wear something with long sleeves, since it was chilly out today.

She pulled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a tight, white long sleeve sweater that fit her form perfectly and had a cowl neck collar. Finally, she pulled on some dark brown snow boots that stopped just below her knees. When she was done, she looked in her floor length mirror and, satisfied with her appearance, flipped the light off and headed back into her bathroom.

She put one some eye liner and mascara, not really needing to do much since she was more natural beauty than anything, but she did like accentuating her features. And just because she didn't like Akito didn't mean she couldn't look gorgeous. After checking everything once more, she glanced at the time and decided she should probably head out. She grabbed her purse and her keys and locked the door behind her. Once she was outside, she took out her large sunglasses and put them on, starting out towards her favorite coffee shop. It didn't take long to get there, since it was just down the street and around the corner. She took the handle of the door and pushed her sunglasses up with her free hand and walked in, preparing herself for what was to come. God knows what that crazy man had planned for their 'just coffee'.

Akito was already sitting at a table with two coffees, one in front of him and one in the opposite seat. He was dressed in some nice jeans and shoes, with a black long sleeved shirt on that accentuated his defined muscles. His hair was slightly mussed from the wind, but it only made him look more handsome. Spotting him, Natsumi walked over and sat down, glancing at the drink in front of her. "I got you black coffee, since you said you liked it." he said, taking a sip from his own drink as he examined her outfit, approval evident in his gaze.

"Are you always this creepy when you like someone?" she asked, looking quite serious. She picked up the beverage and studied it curiously. "This isn't drugged is it?"

"No, but I can go get you another one if you're still skeptical." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit.

She glanced up at him and met his gaze for only a moment before looking off and sipping at the bitter coffee. They sat in silence then, the awkward tension almost visible in the air. Natsumi began to tap nervously on the edges of her cup. "What do you...do?"

"Pretty much whatever I feel like doing." He said. "I have enough money to do as I please for the rest of my life, so for the most part I exercise, ride my bike, and just…do whatever." He shrugged.

"Don't you ever get bored of doing nothing?"

"Sometimes." He told her. "I mean, it gives me plenty of time to learn things about the world. For a while I traveled around and studied multiple fighting styles and cultures. Hu-people are fascinating." His eyes widened at his near slip.

Her eyes narrowed just slightly, but not enough for him to be able to tell. "Are they now?" she thought a bit to herself and then focused on him once more. "Do you enjoy studying them?"

"Oh yes." He shifted a bit, getting a bit more into the conversation. "You see a lot of people think that all of the fighting styles are the same, but they each focus on different things, such as kicks, or offense." He explained, acting as if he hadn't almost said humans instead of people.

"I know." she said coolly. Watching very, very carefully. There was something odd about him and his articulation, and she could tell he was hesitating with some of his words.

He took another drink of his coffee. "So, what do you do in your free time? I hear doctors are pretty busy, especially surgeons."

"Well, I like to dance. As you might have noticed." she smirked slightly, giving him a knowing look. "I actually used to be really into ballet. I was even a prima ballerina." she smiled and forced herself not to show any panic, since the time she was a ballerina was nearly fifty years ago. "But, uh, I also took kendo and that was pretty entertaining."

He gave her a slightly suspicious look, but quickly covered it up. From what he knew, it took a lot of work to be a prima ballerina, and he couldn't really fathom how she did that and went to school to be a doctor, since she was so young. "Kendo huh?" he asked. "We should spar some time. I'm pretty good at it myself."

"We'll see." she replied, sounding aloof.

"So, how have things been at the hospital lately?"

She just shrugged, fiddling idly with the promotion display that was at the center of every table. "Fine. Well, except there's been this crazy guy who's been antagonizing the receptionist and trying to get in."

"You know, I think that woman takes her job too seriously. I mean, she looks like she's forgotten to have fun." He said, swirling his drink to make sure no coffee grounds stuck to the bottom.

"There's no such thing as taking your job too seriously when you work in a hospital." She pointed out, finishing the rest of hers and pushing the empty cup aside.

"I can understand that, but it's not healthy to frown so much all the time. If her face sticks that way she might scare people off, cause' she'll look like this." He contorted his face in a mockery of the receptionist, not caring if he looked stupid. After all, he was supposed to be a nice guy, right? They did stupid and corny things all the time.

It actually looked like she was trying not to laugh, but she really was smiling. She knew the receptionist well and she was even mean to the nursing staff and doctors. She glanced down at his cup and noticed it was empty. "Do you want some more?" she pointed back at the counter, moving her chair back to get up since she wanted a refill herself.

He nodded and handed her his cup. "Yes please." When she turned away he grimaced before wiping the look off his face. How he hated using manners. They were stupid. But, he _had_ made her smile, so at least he knew he was taking a step in the right direction as far as his behavior.

She came back and set the full cup in front of him. She sat back down and sipped the hot brew, staring at him over the top of the cup. "So…why were you stalking me? Did you want to talk to me so badly that you hurt yourself to get into the ER?"

"I did not hurt myself." He scoffed, actually looking offended. "The first time I was helping people get out of their cars when they had an accident, and one of them blew up, sending a bunch of glass flying at me, and the second time I had a head injury that really needed to be treated, because I could have possibly had a concussion." He explained.

"Uh huh." She smirked, drinking her coffee. "Whatever you say 'hero'" she said making small air quotes.

"You know, sometimes I even rescue kittens that are stuck in trees, and ever Wednesday I kiss babies." He smirked, joking with her.

"Oh?" she smirked back, her eyes lighting up with mischief. "So now you're a pedophile too?"

"Oh God no!" he declared, grimacing. "There is a special place in the Underworld for people like that." He said, shaking his head.

Her light mood dropped instantly and her gaze hardened. "Underworld?" her brows furrowed. "Don't you mean…hell?" she said, trying not to show her discomfort.

"No." he said, looking right at her. "Hell is a term Jews and Christians invented depicting where the devil lives. I don't believe in any of that stuff, and have always been fascinated with Greek mythology, so I call it the Underworld." He smirked. "Besides, it sounds a lot cooler, don't you think?"

"Not really." She frowned, her hand forming into a tight fist. She snapped from an odd daze and looked at him as she stood. "I have to go. I'm sorry." She whispered out, grabbing her purse and hurrying out of the coffee shop.

Akito stood and quickly followed after her. "Natsumi, wait!" he called, running to catch up with her retreating form. "What did I do? Was it something I said?" he asked, searching her face, genuine confusion on his face. "It's because I'm not religious, isn't it? I offended you."

She shook her head, but she still looked alarmed. "No…it's not that. I just really need to go. Please." She pleaded, stopping and keeping him away with her outstretched hand. "I'll make it up to you, but right now I need to leave. I'm sorry." She said again, pulling away from him and hurrying off.

He frowned as he watched her walk away. The date hadn't exactly gone as he'd planned, and he made a metal note to never talk of the Underworld ever again, since he had accidentally slipped up, and it was at that point that she had become upset. And even though she had said that she would make it up to him, he didn't know how she would accomplish this feat, since she not only didn't know where he lived, but they hadn't even exchanged phone numbers. Sighing, he shoved his hands in his pockets and turned to walk to Central Park, the best place to go when you needed to think.


	14. Reassurance

**Polarity **

_Chapter Fourteen_

-Reassurance-

Natsumi handed the cab driver a roll of bills and hurried up the steps of the beautiful mansion. "Ma'am!" he called out the window, "You gave me over two hundred dollars."

"Just keep it." She said, not bothering to turn around. She stopped at the door, pounding violently and loudly to get the inhabitants attention. The door opened to reveal an elderly woman. She looked her up and down and then smiled.

"Oh Natsumi…your parents are on the veranda. Shall I prepare a place setting for you? They are eating lunch."

The woman allowed her in and she handed the house keeper her purse and sun glasses. "Sure Mei, I just need to see them alone for a bit." The older woman nodded and moved towards the hall closet. Natsumi continued through the massive house towards the back running over everything in her head once more.

Akito had said Underworld. Only other beings called the Underworld by its true name. But it didn't make sense. Akito seemed normal. And she'd encountered a lot of darker creatures in her days and he did not feel like one of them. After having to leave Akito she'd hailed a cab and headed out to Connecticut, where her parents lived for the time being, since they had to move around ever few decades.

She stepped into the sunlight and the beautiful garden her mother kept in wonderful shade. There was an expensive patio table set up for lunch but she couldn't see either of her parents. She stepped out onto the granite slab patio and then saw her mother step up to the top part of the yard, holding a gorgeous bundle of yellow tulips. "Mom." Natsumi called, sounding small and afraid.

Sakura, who looked like she could be her daughter's sister, immediately focused on her daughter. She picked up her step, sensing that something was wrong. "Natsumi, honey." She said, stopping in front of her. "What is it?"

"Mother," Natsumi breather out, hugging her tightly around the waist, "I think I've met someone from the Underworld who doesn't have a dark aura."

She frowned, embracing the girl. "That's not possible. Every dark being has a dark aura." She said. "It's never been recorded or known otherwise."

Natsumi rolled her eyes and pulled away from her mother slightly. "You and I both know that's a bunch of bull, you didn't even know dad was dad and you were fucking him." She huffed.

"Natsumi! Language." Sakura snapped, looking more motherly with her stern face.

The younger pink haired woman sighed, "Sorry. Sleeping together before wedlock."

She still didn't look pleased by her daughter's words, but chose to continue on with the conversation. "Now, why is it that you believe you've found a dark being with no aura?" she asked, leading her towards the table.

"He said the 'Underworld' and I haven't heard a human call it by its rightful name since the ancient times." She frowned, looking worried. "It's just suspicious."

"I'm sure it's nothing sweetheart." A deep and almost primordial sounding voice said from behind her. Natsumi glanced back and smiled slightly, seeing her father.

"Daddy." She gasped, releasing her mother and hugging him tightly.

Sakura smiled at her mate before looking back to Natsumi. "Your father is right. I think you are just being paranoid." She said, going over to the table and arranging the tulips that she'd had in a vase, placing it in the center. "So, tell me about this boy." She said, giving her child a curious look. "Are the two of you an item?"

Gaara tensed from the words and looked uneasy. "An item?" he looked down to his daughter who just waved it off, breaking from his grasp and sitting next to her mother.

"Of course not, you know I know better than to get attached with a human." She said, touching one of the tulips. "These are so pretty mom."

"Oh thank you dear." Sakura smiled happily. "Yellow is just such a bright and happy color, perfect for the beginning of spring." She looked to the redhead. "Dear, come eat."

Gaara looked between his two beauties and actually smiled, walking over to the patio table and sitting down on the other side of his mate and wife. "I am sure your mother is right Natsumi. You are just paranoid. But who cares? Why does this boy matter?"

"He's nobody." She rolled her eyes. "He's some crazy stalker who wouldn't leave me alone until I went on a date with him and it got weird cause he said that and I guess I just got alarmed for no reason."

"Well, you don't ever have to see him again, so don't worry about it." the elder pink haired woman said, putting some sugar in her tea. Natsumi went quiet then and looked off, deciding not to say anything to correct her.

"Yeah."

Mei brought out their lunch then and for the first time in a while they ate together happily, enjoying the time together as a family.


	15. Compensation

**Cataclysm **

_Chapter Fifteen_

-Compensation-

"Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!" Sasori snickered, looking more excited than he had in decades. "What do we have here?" he asked himself, walking into the living room of their suite. He waved a fine envelope in the air, smirking down at Akito. "Someone's got mail and it's from a woman." He said, lowering it down and reading the return address. "Sabaku no Natsumi M.D."

"Give me that." Akito frowned, snatching it from the redhead's hand. He examined the envelope before opening it, pulling out a letter.

_Dear crazy stalker pedophile a.k.a. Akito, _

_Sorry about bailing on you in the middle of our "date" I was having…issues._

Akito's thoughts were interrupted with Sasori's voice, right by his ear. "She was either on her period, or really, really horny." He jerked away from the older man and held the letter to his chest, glaring at him.

"Will you quit being so damned nosy? I highly doubt it was either of those." He said.

"Geez, don't get your panties in a bunch." The redhead huffed and walked off, leaving Akito to himself. Lowering the letter once more, he picked up where he left off.

_Anyways, since I am one of my word. I have rescheduled our date for Saturday night. You will meet me at eight o'clock at the Blue Fin. It's my favorite restaurant and it's very nice so don't embarrass me. After all, you'll be able to pay for this five star restaurant won't you? You said yourself that you're loaded. Well until then, tah for now._

_Natsumi_

_P.S. You're not the only one good at stalking_

Akito couldn't help but smile slightly, until he realized that he was paying for dinner. Then he cursed. "Great, now I have to go steal more money." He muttered, standing and walking into his room, throwing open his closet door to see if he had a suit. Cursing at his luck, he sat the letter down and grabbed his jacket and his keys before leaving. It seemed that while he was out robbing a bank he was going to have to steal a suit as well. But, he supposed it was a small price to pay in order to get the big prize.

* * *

Akito walked up to the fancy restaurant, and looked at it curiously. Truthfully, he had never eaten here before since coming to New York, but he was sure that they would have decent food. They better, since he was paying for everything.

Adjusting his crimson tie, he entered the restaurant, walking up to the host stand. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and dress shoes, along with a very well fitted black button down dress shirt. Since he wasn't overly fond of them, he had unbuttoned the cuffs and rolled the sleeves up to just below his elbows. He'd even gone far enough to try to fix his hair, though eventually just gave up and left it the way it was.

"I'm here to see Sabaku no Natsumi." He said to the host, a small plump man in his mid-thirties.

"Right this way sir, Dr. Sabaku has already been seated." He said, walking off. Akito followed him through the mass of tables, until coming upon a mostly private one in the back. The restaurant was nice, wood flooring and perfect lighting and the music was soft, but loud enough to entertain. "Here you go sir." The host said, placing the menu down on the unoccupied side of the booth. There was a purse sitting on the seat on the other but Natsumi wasn't there.

The host walked off then and before Akito could sit down, Natsumi walked up, a click to her step. She was wearing a tight, form fitting red dress that cut straight across, revealing only a small amount of cleavage. The straps were thin at the base and the fanned out as they went over her shoulders. The dress stopped just above her knees and she looked him over once they were standing in front of one another. "Wow. Hm, you do clean up pretty nice." She said sitting back down on her side.

He smirked, taking his seat as well. "You expected otherwise?" he asked, raising a brow.

"I did actually. I thought you'd show up in that jacket of yours and jeans with your motor cycle oil smeared down one of the pant legs." She said nonchalantly, flipping through her menu and trying to decide what she wanted.

"Don't go knockin' the leather jacket." He smiled, looking at his menu. "It makes people think I'm unapproachable, and then they leave me alone." He looked up at her then. "You look very beautiful by the way. Red suits you."

"So I've been told," she replied, acting as if it was nothing, though the small pink blush on her cheeks said otherwise. "Hm. What to get…" she pondered aloud.

He smirked and looked back at his menu. "I don't know, I've never been here before." He admitted.

Natsumi chewed on her lower lip, her eyes skimming quickly over the offered entrees. "I think I'll get the sushi. I've never been disappointed in their sushi and I think I'm craving something raw."

He refrained from making a sexual comment, as he usually would, and found something that he figured would taste okay. Setting down his menu, he looked at her. "So, how did you find me?" he asked, curious.

"I have my ways." She smirked deviously, setting her menu down and looking up at him.

"Uh huh." The corner of his mouth tilted slightly. "So long as you didn't follow me around. I'm the only stalker at this table allowed to do that." He joked.

Their waiter came then and they ordered their drinks as well as what they wanted. The man nodded to the both of them and headed off to place their orders. Natsumi looked around the establishment once again feeling awkward, since she really didn't know what to say to him. Akito just watched her, enjoying the emotions so clearly displayed on her face. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, deciding he might as well seem concerned for her.

"Huh?" she blinked, looking confused. "Oh! Right, yeah I'm fine." She nodded, unwrapping her utensils from her napkin and setting the cloth on her lap. Once again there was silence between them and Natsumi turned a dark, cherry red. "Will you stop staring at me like that it's freaking me out."

He smiled, looking away as he set up his silver wear. "Sorry, but you're just so pretty, especially when you blush." He glanced up at her as he placed his napkin in his lap, mischief in his eyes. "As I said, red looks good on you."

She huffed, trying not to look as flustered as she actually was. "What do you want from me?" she asked suddenly, looking back at him and meeting his deep green gaze. "I mean what do you _really_ want from me."

"I want you." He said truthfully, although to him he meant her body. "Meaning all of you." He gestured with his hand. "Even your weird 'I'm nice now but wait a few minutes and I'll do a complete one-eighty'." He said. "But not in a bad way." He held up his hands, wanting to show that he wasn't trying to insult her.

Natsumi just gave him a scrupulous look, somewhat of a pout on her face. "But why? We just met."

"Like I said, there's just something about you that draws me to you." He set his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them. "I can't really explain it."

"That's stupid." She huffed. "That kind of weird mythical crap doesn't exist anymore."

His eyes narrowed slightly, but not visibly. "What do you mean, anymore?" he asked, suspicion evident in his voice. Nobody talked like that unless they actually knew something about it, and he highly doubted a human would. Did that mean that Itachi and Sasori were right, and that she was something else?

She realized her blunder and quickly covered it, feigning silliness as she giggled. "You know like in fairy tales and what not." When his expression didn't change she quickly changed her tactic. "You know," she leaned forward just enough so that her breasts were practically propped up on the table and giving him a nice full view. "You do look _really_ nice tonight." She smiled, rubbing her foot against calve.

At the feel of what she was doing he immediately forgot his train of thought as his eyes widened a bit and he sat up straight. It took a Herculean effort not to stare at her chest, since he was trying to be a gentleman, and instead he opted to look into her beautiful light eyes. "Thanks." He said as their food was delivered to them.

"Oh yay." She sat back so that the waiter could place her food in front of her. He had a light pink across his cheeks, since Natsumi's dress had moved down a big with her actions and had stayed down.

"Enjoy." He nodded to them and sat Akito's down as well before leaving. Natsumi broke her chop sticks and began eating, savoring the unique flavor.

Akito began to eat as well, and they two were silent for a while, content to just enjoy their meals. A few minutes later he paused in eating his dinner. "So tell me about yourself." He said. Best to get to know as much about her that he didn't know already, that way he could handle her better and he would be able to get her into the sack faster once he could manipulate her the right way.

She shrugged. "What's there to tell? I work a lot. I like to sleep in. I don't know. I don't really do anything else."

"No, I mean about your family and your childhood and stuff." He clarified.

"Oh." She swallowed. Crap. "Um, well. I have a brother, he's a doctor too. My parents live in Connecticut. I don't have any other relatives I know of. Everyone on my father's side is dead and my mom hasn't seen her birth place in…a long time."

"Huh." He sat back in his seat. That certainly wasn't what he had expected. Usually women loved to talk about themselves. "Well that sounds…kinda boring."

"Yup. _Totally_ boring." She nodded, offering him one of her sushi rolls. "You should try one."

He took it from her, popping the entire thing into his mouth. "These are pretty good." He said, picking up some of his tempura. "Here." He held it out to her. She leaned forward and allowed him to feed it to her, some of the fried crisp broke off and landed on the swell of her breast. She blinked, swallowing the tempura and plucked off the fallen piece.

"That's really good too." She smiled, tossing the crisp in her mouth and then licking her fingers. He felt his mouth go dry as he stared at her. She was so unbelievably tempting, he almost couldn't stand it. But he was strong, and so he would persevere. Shaking his head in order to snap him from his daze, he picked up another piece of food.

"Do they have fried ice cream here?" he asked. "Because we should get some when we finish dinner."

"I think so. We could always ask." She said eating her last piece of sushi and then sliding her plate towards the end of the table. He did the same, and when the waiter came by he ordered their dessert.

"So," he began once they were alone. "Can I date you, or do you still not like me?" he asked, folding his arms on top of the table.

She looked off, "I don't really do the whole dating thing."

"Then what about we just hang out and try to be friends?" he asked. That way he could still woo her and get her into bed without her being uncomfortable with it. She gave him a doubtful look, to which he made his eyes widen and lower lip stick out in a child-like pout. "Everybody needs a friend." He said.

"Hey I have a friend." She huffed, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"Do you have more than one?" he raised a brow. "Any of which are of the male species? And your brother doesn't count, I don't care how close you are." He said, holding up a finger.

She blushed and avoided his gaze. "Well…no, but I don't want any."

He cocked his head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because I'm a rich and extremely attractive woman, I know what they want and it's always the same." She said simply.

"You mean a good fuck?" he asked bluntly, not ashamed to use such language in front of her.

Her face fell and she sighed, taking her napkin from her lap and setting it on the table. "Yeah…but thanks for making this an easy decision. Cause I was actually debating on the offer but now," she gave him an ok gesture with her hand and grabbed her purse before getting up. "Thanks for dinner. I hope you can find someone else to be creepy with."

He quickly placed a wad of bills on the table, knowing it was more than enough, and stood. "Natsumi," he reached out and gently grasped her wrist to keep her from leaving. "I just want to know you." He said softly. "If I was after what all those other guys were, I could get it elsewhere, since I'm a rich and extremely attractive man. There's no law that says we can't be friends."

Natsumi looked up at him, her face heating up from their close proximity. "Look, I just don't want to get into something that's going to have to end. I don't see the point. Can you not see my reasoning?"

"Why does it have to end?" he stroked her smooth skin with his thumb.

She just frowned. "It always does." She said simply. Of course, the real reason was because she would never die and he would grow old and eventually she'd have to move so he wouldn't notice that she wasn't getting any older.

"Well, until it does end, I don't see why we can't be friends." He said. "By not being friends we could be denying ourselves vast amounts of happiness. Our friendship years could be the best of our lives, and we may not know it. It's like they say, better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all. Except in this case it'd be platonic and friend-love." He reasoned, trying to persuade her. He hoped it worked, because he had actually said the word love more than once, something he _never_ did.

"I dunno," she breathed out, pulling her hand from his. "I'll have to think about it." She said quickly, hurrying through the restaurant and out the opened doors. She had to still her racing heart. This was awful, he was really, really attractive and she was somewhat curious about him. But she didn't want to get close and then have it hurt. Her sadness overwhelmed her and she looked up to the now dark cloudy sky. "Dang it." She cursed, trying to reign in her emotions.

Akito just sighed and looked to the waiter, who was holding their fried ice cream. "You're leaving sir?" he asked, seeming confused.

"Yes. Keep the change, and I guess you can just eat the ice cream." He said, patting the man on the shoulder and leaving the restaurant. Natsumi was nowhere to be seen, and, looking up at the sky, he saw that it was probably going to rain. Stupid angels, he thought. Not wanting to ruin his newly stolen clothes, he hailed a cab back to the penthouse in which he stayed.

Most men would look on this in discouragement, but he saw it as success. Now all he would have to do would be to remind her about him to the point that she thought about him, even when she didn't want to. It wouldn't be too hard, and this way she would still feel like she was in control of where everything was going. Those thoughts in mind, a dark smirk crept to his face as he paid the taxi driver and went upstairs, the plans already formulating in his head.


	16. Phase One: Stay Out of the Friend Zone

**Cataclysm**

_Chapter Sixteen _

-Phase One: Stay Out of the 'Friend Zone'-

Natsumi sat at one of the few tables in the physician's lounge of the hospital. She had her head propped up and her chin resting on her hand. She was still wearing her scrubs, having been too tired to bother to change after the surgery. It had been just a couple days since Akito's proposal of friendship and ever since then Akito had managed to get her phone number and insisted on calling her every morning and every evening.

It was _so_ irritating. But she had to give him credit. He was very persistent. She leaned forward, resting her forehead on the table and trying to fall asleep. Just then a nurse walked in and set something on the table before her, causing her to sit up slightly in order to see it. Her eyes widened when she saw a large bouquet of various kinds of lilies in a beautiful vase, with a card amongst the petals.

"These were delivered for you Dr. Sabaku." The girl said, smiling slightly.

"Really?" she blinked, absolutely mind-blown. "They're gorgeous." She smiled, taking out the card and pulling the hard paper from its envelop.

_Natsumi,_

_I figured you could use something to cheer you up and put that radiant smile on your face. Hope it worked._

_Sincerely,_

_Your Personal Stalker/Pending BFF_

She actually let out a small laugh and looked back up to the magnificent flowers. "Uchiha Akito…you are some kind of freak." She smiled, touching the tips of the petals and then getting up. "Alright." She glanced to the nurse and stretched. "I'll finish off my rounds and then I'm heading home. Tell my brother I said hi when he comes in and that dinner is on for tomorrow."

The nurse nodded. "Of course Dr. Natsumi."

Natsumi walked out from the lounge then and headed into the hospital to check on her patients and treat the more severe needs. About an hour later, she changed into her clothes which consisted of some black yoga pants and a tank top, with a light jacket to match. She grabbed her purse and then the flowers and headed out, saying her final goodbyes to the staff.

Since she had flowers, she decided to hail a cab, instead of her usual walk home. It didn't take long to reach her home since it was pretty close to the hospital so that she could always be on call should they need her. Once she pulled up to her building, she paid the driver and got out and headed up the steps. She leaned against the wall of the elevator on her way up to her floor. The doors opened and she walked out, stopping in front of her door. She glanced down and let out an audible sigh. "You've got to be kidding me." She grumbled.

There sitting in front of her door was a massive arrangement of fruit, dipped in chocolate. The fruit was even shaped like leaves and flowers. Natsumi set her flowers down and unlocked the door to her suite and carried the flowers in, having to make a second trip for the Edible Arrangement. She closed the door with her foot and set the gift down on her kitchen table. "He is such a weirdo." She shook her head, pulling one of the chocolate covered strawberries off and biting into it. "Oh god," she gasped, savoring the delicious flavor. She tossed away the green and headed into her room, changing into something more comfortable and that didn't smell like the hospital.

She came back out in some short black shorts and a tight black, long sleeved shirt. The sleeves stopped just past her fingertips and she already felt at ease. Turning on the flat screen she made herself some hot chocolate and piled her favorites of the chocolate covered fruits to a plate and sat down on the couch to relax. It was then that her phone rang, and without looking away from the TV, she reached over and picked up the cordless land line and held it to her ear. "Hello. Natsumi here."

"You should come up with a more interesting way to answer your phone." A deep, now familiar voice said.

She just sighed, "If you don't like it, you can stop calling you know."

"But then I wouldn't get to hear your angelic voice." He said, sounding amused. "So, how was your day?"

"Well," she began, leaning back and pulling her legs up onto the couch. She couldn't help but laugh. He was so amusing sometimes. "It was pretty decent. Some surgeries, some stalker sent me flowers and then I found fruit on my door step. But nothing too unusual."

"Ah." He said. "So you get fruits and flowers often? Does this mean I have to come up with other ways to make you think of me?" he asked.

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "What did you think, giving me chocolate covered fruit would make me think of you? I bet you hoped it would make me want to cover _you_ in chocolate." She nickered.

"Is that what you thought of as your sexy mouth bit into one of the chocolate covered bananas?" he joked. "If so, you are way more perverted than I originally thought."

Her face turned a dark red as she tried not to picture the image in her head. Man was she glad they were only talking over the phone. "Didn't you know? Secretly, girls are always more perverted than boys are." She replied as sultry as she could. She would not allow him to catch her embarrassed.

"Are they now?" he asked, sounding sly. "So I guess that means you're picturing me naked right now, huh? I think I'm starting to get turned on." He said, teasing her.

"What do you mean _starting_ to, you're always turned on you horn dog." She huffed, refusing to admit to his correct accusation.

"Touché. So, what are you doing right now? The usual?"

"Oh," she arched a delicate brow, biting into another of her strawberries. "And what's that?"

"Well, by now you've usually changed into something more comfortable and have turned on the TV to watch while you snuggle on the couch with your cat." He told her. "Though I guess she's too busy watching the bugs on your porch to come lay with you."

Natsumi went slightly wide eyed and looked over to her window to see her orange cat lowering into a pounce, but not moving since the bugs were in fact outside. "God you're creepy." She shivered.

He chuckled. "Well, if you're lonely, I can always come over, since Pitter ditched you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh would you, Pending BFF?" she pouted, sounding adorably innocent in her act. "I'm so lonely and distraught, who knows what I'd do all by myself."

"Aw, Little Flower, do you miss me that badly?" he asked, sounding sympathetic.

"Oh yes," she purred, having a bit too much fun with this. "It's almost been a whole twenty four hours since you've shown up somewhere in my daily routine."

"I know, a whole new record. But fear not, I do not mind changing that. For what kind of friend would I be if I left you by yourself?"

She tapped her chin in speculation. "A bad friend?"

He chuckled. "Exactly. Which is why you should come outside onto your balcony. I'm tired of looking at you flowers. Not that they aren't pretty or anything, but they don't compare to your smiling face."

Natsumi sat forward, looking towards her window where she had placed her flowers. "…You're not…" she whispered, getting up and heading over to her massive balcony. She slid the door open and walked out onto the landing and peered over the edge. And there he was, down on the sidewalk, waving up at her. "You really are a psycho aren't you?" she sighed, resting her elbows on the railing and watching him curiously. "You're not going to like cut up my cat and cook it into something and then feed it to me are you?" she could visibly see him frown as he lowered his arm.

"No, that's disgusting. I am offended that you think so little of me."

"Hey! I've seen Fatal Attraction, ok? You never know." She stuck her tongue out at him. It was kind of funny, seeing him down there and talking to him on the phone. Though, the thought only made her think they were something more than just acquaintances.

"Uh huh." He nodded, seeming skeptical. "You know, the way the light from your porch is hitting you, it almost seems like there's this angelic glow around your entire body." He smiled, gesturing with his free hand. "It's really pretty, especially when it hits your hair."

She couldn't help but smile. She was glad her mother's blood ran so brightly through her veins and knew that it wasn't just the porch light. All her life she's had a soft glow, just like all angel's had. But she couldn't help but noticed he had some weird attraction to her innocence. Not that he knew yet that she was untouched, but he always said odd things like 'pure' or 'flower' or anything similar to the like. "Do you…um, want to come up? It's kind of cold out here." She asked shyly.

He actually looked mildly surprised. "Is it okay if I do? I don't want to force my company on you or anything."

"Why would I invite you up if I didn't mean it?" she sighed, leaning against the edge. "What? No fun if you're actually invited?" she smirked, walking away from the edge and going back into her house. "If you want, the door is open." She said before hanging up.

In a lot less time than it should have taken, Akito walked through the door of her apartment, as if it was no big deal. What was even stranger was what he did next. "Hey." He said, taking off his leather jacket, revealing a well-fitted black long sleeved shirt that went well with his dark, casual jeans and converse, before walking over to her front closet and hanging it up. Then he slipped off his shoes and left them by the front door before walking over and plopping down onto the couch next to her. "Long time no see." He smirked, looking over at her. Natsumi just looked kind of stunned, since it was almost like he had been inside her home before based on his actions.

"You alarm me."

His eyes widened and he blinked. "Why?"

"You just do is all." She shrugged.

He shrugged as well, before a devious look came to his face. Before she could react, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his lap, holding her close to him so that she could feel his toned chest. "What are you doing?" Natsumi shrieked in slight alarm.

He just held her closer. "I am snuggling with you like I said I would." He explained, nuzzling her slightly. Her face turned a dark red and at first she did nothing to stop his advance. But finally she snapped from her daze and pushed away from him.

"You need to stop Akito, this is inappropriate."

He pulled back even more, searching her face before setting her back in her original spot. "Right, sorry." He placed his hands in his lap and clasped them together, looking very much like the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"It's fine. You're just lucky I already know you're insane." She sighed and got up, grabbing the phone as well. "I'm going to order a pizza." She told him, walking over to the bar that opened the kitchen to the living room. She leaned over the top, grabbing the number and resting her elbows on the counter.

Akito glanced back at her, his eyes lowering instantly to her perfect behind. He really wanted to just get up and grab it, but he knew that wouldn't be permitted, and he would just lose ground that way. Man, being good was difficult. He might just have to go find some woman to screw later to release his sexual frustration. He looked down then as her orange tabby came up to him, giving him a curious look. On impulse, he reached down and began to pet the feline, quickly starting a game with it.

Natsumi hung up the phone when she was finished and looked back, seeing him playing with her sweet little cat. She smiled and walked back over to him, kneeling on the ground and scratching the cat's head. "Aw Pitter, do you like Akito?" she laughed, snuggling with her sweet kitty who meowed adorably and began purring.

"She's cute." He sat up then and leaned against the couch.

"I know." Natsumi laughed, kissing her head. "She's kinda crazy but I love her."

"So you like having crazy people in your life?" he asked, raising a brow.

She glanced up at him, meeting his gaze and huffed, picking up her cat. "I wouldn't read too much into that if I were you."

"Of course not." He smirked.

Surprising to Akito, the pizza got there unusually fast. Though he assumed it was because she was a doctor and she always seemed to use the prefix when she was ordering food. But then again who wouldn't with the perks. Natsumi paid for it and waved to the boy delivering it. She shut the door and brought it over to the table, setting it down and then sitting on the couch. "You want some?"

"Sure. What kind is it?" he asked, moving to sit on the edge of the couch.

"Pepperoni, black olives, and sausage." She smiled, picking up a piece with the most topping and taking a satisfying bite. "Mmm!" He took one with the least amount of toppings on it and ate it silently, not paying attention to the food, since it was all directed at Natsumi.

She sighed, holding up the remote and changing the channel. "Stop staring at me."

"Why, is it making you uncomfortable?"

"Possibly."

"Okay." He said simply, looking at the television as he continued to eat. The rest of the evening flew by. They ordered a couple of movies and enjoyed the edible bouquet together until it was late into the night. Akito glanced down from the screen when he felt Natsumi's head slump onto his shoulder. He leaned forward just enough to see her face without disturbing her to see that she had fallen asleep.

Sighing, he grabbed the remote from her limp hand and turned off the TV, setting it down on the coffee table. Then he turned and scooped her into his arms, carrying her back to her bedroom. He knew where it was because he actually had broken into her apartment numerous times before when he'd been stalking her, and the reason her cat like him so much was because he used to bring it catnip so that when he eventually did come over it would already be warm towards him.

He pulled back her sheets, gently laying her on her large bed before covering her and tucking her in. Straightening, he looked down at her and noticed how she still seemed to glow in the moonlight, giving her an ethereal look. Brushing some of her hair from her face he walked out of her bedroom and cleaned up the pizza mess before putting his shoes and jacket on. Grabbing a sticky note, he placed it on her fridge so that she would see it in the morning before going back over to the door. It read:

_Natsumi,_

_You looked too peaceful in sleep so I decided not to wake you before I left. _

_-The Psycho_

_P.S.-Don't worry, I locked the door behind me._

He pulled out his key to the apartment, which nobody knew he had, and locked the door after him before shoving his hands into his pockets and heading home.


End file.
